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Trusted Connectivity Alliance: October 2026 Member News

Welcome from the TCA Chair

The latest marketing monitoring insights from TCA, based on member SIM and eSIM shipment, transaction and platform data, reveal that the eSIM ecosystem expanded significantly in the first half of 2026.

Consumer and IoT demand were both key drivers. In the H1 2026 period alone, consumer eSIM profile downloads worldwide equalled almost the same volume realised across the full year in 2025.

There were clear signs that the market has embraced GSMA’s eSIM IoT Specification (SGP.32) to simplify the remote provisioning and management of IoT devices. Compared to full year 2025, TCA data reveals a fivefold increase globally in the number of eSIM Subscription Manager (SM) platforms that enable profile downloads in accordance with the specification.

Data also showed that the traditional SIM market remains highly resilient. Continuing the trend seen throughout 2025, TCA members increased their delivered SIM volumes by 6% year-on-year in H1 2026 amid ongoing digitalisation and increasing demand for eSIM technology.

With the global connectivity landscape expanding and undergoing a major transformation, we are committed to supporting the ongoing evolution of the SIM and eSIM ecosystem in alignment with market forces and regulatory developments. That’s why TCA welcomes a new position paper from Eurosmart outlining a scalable approach to EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) conformity assessment.

The paper explores the use of Full Quality Assurance (Module H) as a conformity assessment route under the CRA and how existing ISO 9001-based Quality Assurance Systems (QAS) can provide a strong foundation for integrating CRA-specific cybersecurity requirements.

While TCA fully supports the objectives of the CRA, we have significant concerns about the lack of a clear and reliable conformity assessment pathway for telecommunications products (e.g. SIM and eSIM) within the current implementation timeline. TCA therefore supports the approach set out by Eurosmart as one potential route to practical and timely CRA compliance that reduces unnecessary duplication and makes efficient use of Notified Bodies’ capacity, while maintaining the required level of cybersecurity assurance.

In parallel, TCA is closely following the development of CRA-related standardisation activities to support a practical and effective compliance framework for telecommunications products. This includes recognising or leveraging established security assurance frameworks, such as GSMA eSA and SAS-UP, that have successfully supported telecommunications security for many years.

As work progresses, TCA remains fully committed to supporting the successful implementation of the CRA and stands ready to contribute its technical expertise and industry experience to this ongoing dialogue.

Guido Abate, Chair of the TCA Board