What happened
India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) has recommended a new light-touch authorisation regime for the sale and use of foreign telecom service providers’ SIM and eSIM cards in Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices intended for export. Under the proposal, these foreign SIMs/eSIMs would be regulated through a streamlined “International M2M SIM Service Authorisation” with minimal entry requirements and a nominal processing fee of ₹5,000; no entry fee, bank guarantee, or equity/net-worth criteria would apply, and approvals would be digitally issued online with validity for up to 10 years. For testing and prototyping, foreign SIMs/eSIMs could remain active in India for up to six months.
Who is affected
- IoT/M2M device manufacturers and exporters in India that embed SIMs/eSIMs in products such as industrial sensors, connected vehicles, and smart meters intended for overseas markets.
- Foreign telecom service providers whose SIM/eSIM cards will now have a clear regulatory path for use in Indian-made export devices.
- Telecom ecosystem partners, including testing labs, logistics firms, and compliance teams, engaged in validation, certification, and export readiness.
Why CISOs should care
This regulatory shift could accelerate the adoption and global competitiveness of Indian IoT/M2M solutions, broadening exposure to international markets, but it also expands the attack surface. CISOs need to account for foreign SIM/eSIM provisioning and extended testing cycles, which can introduce additional firmware, connectivity stacks, and supply chain vectors. Clear regulatory frameworks often bring compliance expectations, audit requirements, and cross-border data considerations, amplifying the importance of standardized security controls before deployment.
3 Practical Actions for CISOs
- Update IoT Security Policies: Ensure your organization’s IoT/M2M security policies explicitly cover procurement, testing, and deployment of foreign SIM/eSIM components and define controls for secure provisioning, lifecycle management, and revocation.
- Strengthen Supply Chain Risk Assessments: Incorporate foreign SIM/eSIM vendor security posture into third-party risk assessments, including firmware authenticity, carrier security practices, and integration safeguards.
- Align with Regulatory Compliance Plans: Work with legal and compliance teams to align your IoT/M2M roadmaps with the TRAI’s authorisation regime, including documentation, registration workflows, and any security baseline expectations tied to export-oriented certification.