A taskforce of major players in the telecommunication technology industry are getting together under the umbra of the GSMA (the GSM Association) to front a charge into getting every device mobile. This taskforce includes experts from all the major operators such as AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom Orange, KT, NTT DOCOMO, SK Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone.

An article on ReadWriteWeb lays this one out for us,

Like the SIM cards found in today’s mobile phones, the “embedded SIM” now in development will also connect devices to a GSM wireless network. (GSM is a widespread mobile telephony standard, connecting over 3 billion devices to wireless networks.) However, unlike standard SIMs, embedded SIMs will be non-removable chips, more deeply integrated into the device itself and able to be activated remotely.

These embedded SIM cards will be incorporated into more everyday devices, not just phones and tablets, the two main areas where SIM cards have found homes today.

Thank goodness the Internet is slowly shifting to IPv6 (an Internet Protocol layer which will enable an address space of trillions and trillions) as the current IPv4 addresses are already starting to run out—and the revolution of the Internet of Things would certainly dry that up even faster. We’ve all seen commercials from appliance creators and car makers who laud the creation of a product that can connect itself to the Internet—cars that tell us when they’re low on oil by e-mail, refrigerators that warn about a need for more milk through an Instant Message. Adding all of these sorts of things into the wireless space is going to generate a lot of noise, take up a lot of addresses, and require a great deal of juggling.

There’s already a question if wireless providers can keep up with this sort of throughput and connections if every Dick, Harry, and stuffed animal has a GSM connection. What this sort of thing may do will be to push carriers harder for Wi-Fi hotspots and stronger coverage across cities so that they can rope more customers into wireless subscriptions (in order to cover their devices.)

Some implementations of this might be extremely beneficial, for example: cameras that automatically connect to the Internet to upload photographs after they’re taken. A simple idea already implemented by the EyeFI SD card (which is both Flash storage card and a wireless device that can connect to Wi-Fi hotspots.) Most people currently use these cards with mobile hotspots or by moving within range of a public Wi-Fi connection at the local fast food restaurant or coffee shop.

Near-Field Communications may also become the burgeoning technology within the Internet of Things, which is already being used for e-wallets in phones—as Android is preparing to release. Ideally, instead of attempting to connect to an overarching wireless space, these embedded SIM chips would go through our already-ubiquitous communication devices like cell phones (for those on our persons, like cameras) and through wireless routers in our homes for appliances. NFC would be a perfect resource for that.

The final issue brought up by many happens to be the already expensive costs of data use subscriptions—with many carriers nickel-and-diming their users over a trickle of bits. Having a multitude of wireless enabled devices chatting without leash; current subscriptions would quickly bankrupt the average person or at least leave them quite steamed over a hefty wireless bill. Carriers will have to come up with better systems for allowing people to use such devices, otherwise we won’t see much pull for adoption of this technology.