C Spire becomes a mobile partner with Microsoft to use eSIM for enterprise

Company's wireless communications unit to implement embedded SIM technology for device management

C Spire is making it easier for information technology teams to manage what has historically been disparate devices and subscriptions on its mobile network by partnering with enterprise software giant Microsoft to use embedded SIM technology in smartphones and tablets for companies and businesses.

The announcement was made Wednesday during a panel discussion at the week-long Microsoft Ignite conference here, which brings together over 26,000 IT, data and enterprise development professionals for a series of high-level workshops, presentations and other meetings to discuss, explore and examine company products and partner solutions.

"We're excited about partnering with Microsoft and augmented identity company IDEMIA to use the eSIM orchestration hub to configure and integrate our network so it easily and quickly supports eSIM for mobile smartphone and tablet devices," said Wade Smith, vice president of Business and Strategic Development for C Spire.

Smith said eSIM offers a streamlined user experience for managing cellular connectivity for enterprises, enabling IT teams to provision, deploy and manage cellular connectivity through mobile device management. This is especially important to companies like C Spire, which operates the nation's largest privately-owned mobile communications unit.

C Spire will work with IDEMIA and Microsoft to use the eSIM orchestration hub to simplify integration in its wireless network. The hub handles all eSIM activation and provisioning workflows on the network and, by connecting to existing APIs, enables eSIM support without requiring major updates to billing and operating systems.

"This solution places the power of mobile plans, policies and decision making into the hands of an operator so they can holistically and more easily manage inventories, reconcile costs, track usage and assign subscriptions to specific devices and individual users," Smith said.

eSIM-enabled devices are quickly becoming the industry standard with shipments expected to grow from 224 million this year to 700 million in 2022, according to ABI Research. eSIM is expected to flood enterprise markets worldwide in the next few years, which is why C Spire, IDEMIA and Microsoft are working together to remove hurdles for network operators.