SIM Card - An Important Piece Of Equipment For A Phone



by Ursula R. Brooks


No matter which cell phone hand held instrument you happen to buy and use, you will still need the SIM card or 'subscriber identity module, chip that is essential to connect you to the service provider, network and be able to access outgoing and incoming calls.

Every time you wish to change your handset, you would need to transfer the SIM from the old handset to the new one to be able to get connected.

The telephone company provides you with the SIM card enabling you to activate your connection. SIM comes normally in three sizes. SIM is common for all connections be it post paid or prepaid. However while choosing the SIM you might need to specify whether you want a local, national or an international SIM.

What micro processors are to the computer, the SIM is to the cell phone. The SIM cards though are of recent origin and the first batch of 300 SIMs are said to have been developed by ."Giesecke & Devrient" in 1991 and sold to Radiolinja. Today it is not possible to estimate the number of SIMS that have been manufactured and sold all over the world. There are a lot of up gradation and improvements happening in the SIMS too. Keeping in line with the development of technology like GSM and 3G, the SIM too has had to be upgraded to become a suitable enabler.

Service providers normally charge some amount for providing validity to the SIM card issued by them to you. In some markets, the companies are known to offer Life Time validity depending upon the promotional package, while others charge some fee for 12 months or 24 months validity. The Service Provider is in a position to bar the access of your SIM card and thus stop you from accessing the network.

For those who are traveling from place to place, using roaming can mean very high bills. To avoid this you can buy a prepaid SIM card costing 20 to 80 USD. This can be used in all countries wherever you go and thus save both money as well as time.

Sometimes people are too lazy to get themselves a prepaid SIM with roaming. They often end up running huge amounts on their roaming charges and pay through the nose. When this happens they rush to buy a SIM and try to save money further on.

When you buy a different SIM card, you might need to get your cell phone unlocked. This can easily be done at the counter when you buy the SIM itself.




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