Most of you who have used an EV or any connected vehicle already know it talks to the cloud. In our cars and scooters, the internet usually comes from an embedded eSIM inside a telematics box. A tiny chip that is usually soldered. Let’s discuss that today.
This is not a personal SIM like your phone. In India, it is an M2M(Machine to Machine) eSIM managed by the manufacturer or its M2M service provider. They buy data in bulk and bundle it in your plan. Technically, no separate Jio/Airtel bill you pay monthly. Your app works because the eSIM authenticates with a telecom profile that the backend pushes over the air.
Who controls those profiles? Not you. The OEM or its M2M provider does. They talk to two GSMA defined servers. One prepares operator profiles. Another installs and activates them on the eSIM. The big 2025 change launched by Govt is the interop. If an OEM asks, its server must integrate with any Indian operator’s profile server within three months. If needed, the OEM can move control of your eSIM to a different server within six months. That gives OEMs leverage.
What does this mean in practice? Owners benefit from fewer long lock ins. If coverage is weak in a region, the OEM has a formal path to add a new operator profile at scale. If an eSIM platform underperforms, the OEM can migrate. You still cannot pop in your own SIM. That is by design. It keeps security and KYC consistent with machine tracking and logs. If your connected pack lapses, you usually keep local features like Bluetooth. Just the cloud features die. I really hope Govt comes up with some data privacy standards for this communication. Because currently you don’t know what data from your vehicle is sent back to OEM servers with data traceable back to you.
BTW: The SIM inside many connected vehicles in India does not use the usual 10 digit format, they follow a dedicated 13 digit numbering scheme for traceability and scale. Pretty neat for something you never see while using your vehicle.
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