What is a MicroSIM or 3FF SIM Card ?


micro SIM CARD

Each and everyone of us use a SIM card today. Not only one, may be many.What was once an expensive chip to acquire back in the early days of mobile telephony has become a very cheap plastic card that is available even for free if the mobile operators are desperate to add new connections. Yesterday Apple announced the iPad which works over Wi-Fi and 3G / GSM networks with microSIM cards. If you thought that the MicroSIM or 3FF Sim Card is a new invention , you might be wrong . The introduction of these cards dates back to 2003.

According to a story by SmartCardTrends , the ESTI or The European Telecommunications Standards Institute ‘s  project Smart Card platform planned to introduce a  new smart card which was half the size of the current day SIM Cards or Subscriber Identity Module. The introduction was mainly to cater to the Data Only GSM devices in the market.  With the MicroSIM card you can have a SIM inside your watch , Camera , iPad  or pretty much any device which needs only data and no telephony unlike the normal SIM Card.

Here is a great visual comparison from a Swiss institute

This new form of the SIM card was named the 3FF SIM Card or Third Form Factor.

First Form – Credit Card Sized cards

Second Form – Stamp Sized SIM cards like you see in the image above

Third Form – microSIM

A 3FF SIM  Card measures only 12mm x 15mm compared to the current SIM card which measures 15×25 mm


Author: Team FoneArena

A team of mobile geeks