Many of the automotive original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide are including GSM telematics devices in the designs of their vehicles using a chip subscriber identification module (Sim) device, says telecommunications provider Vodacom’s enterprise unit, Vodacom Business.

The device, says Vodacom Businessmobile voice and machine-to-machine (M2M) products portfolio manager Simon Churches, is a semiconductor form factor Sim card, which is placed on the vehicle’s telematics control module circuit board to link the vehicle to a number of management platforms.

“Unlike traditional plastic cellular Sim cards, these are not Sim cards that can be easily removed. They also have an extended temperature range and have long lifespans,” states Churches, adding that Vodacom Business has, since 2008, been assisting in the provision of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) M2M communications services to the South African automotive industry.

He explains that the purpose of transferring this data can include the ability to improve safety, provide media such as navigation and traffic information as well as vehicle diagnostics.

This, Churches says, will enable OEM customers to keep track of their vehicles’ history and assist in the second-hand vehicle market in future by enabling consumers to access important information about where and how the vehicle has been driven, whether it has been in any accidents, its service history and mileage.

He adds that tracking systems in South Africa have evolved from radio frequency beacon devices to sophisticated GSM and global positioning system devices with multiple sensors.

Churches states that South Africa is a mature market for the vehicle tracking industry and Vodacom is assisting most of the major tracking companies in the country by providing them with Sim cards and connectivity to enable their devices to function accordingly.

Vodacom introduced a global Sim management platform – Global Data Services Platform (GDSP) – in November 2012, which runs off the company’s parent company, British multinational telecommunications company Vodafone’s Global M2M network.

“This platform enables companies, which deploy hundreds of thousands or even millions of Sim cards, to seamlessly manage the life cycle of the Sim from the ordering to the billing stage without having to employ additional people to monitor the Sim cards,” Churches explains.

Vodacom has about 20 customers who are prototyping the GDSP solution.

“Vodacom also provides M2M connectivity for the navigational devices of navigation product supplier TomTom,” he concludes.