SGP.32 and eSIM: Who is the Real Hero – Hardware or Network?

The Competing Claims

Walk around any IoT connectivity trade show and every vendor claims to be the solution to your eSIM problems. Router manufacturers show impressive fleet management dashboards. MNOs show global coverage maps. Specialist MVNOs show real-time profile switching. eSIM platform providers show policy-driven automation.

They are all selling a version of the same promise: your devices will connect anywhere, anytime, to the best available network, without physical SIM logistics. The question worth asking is: who actually delivers that promise?

The Hardware Argument

The device manufacturer has a strong claim. Without eSIM-capable hardware – a certified eUICC, a properly implemented IPA, firmware that handles bootstrap and profile management correctly – none of the rest matters. You cannot manage a profile on a device that does not have an eSIM chip.

Teltonika make this argument explicitly. Their position is that SGP.22 with excellent remote management via RMS can deliver better operational outcomes than a poorly implemented SGP.32 device. And they are largely right for the router and gateway market.

But hardware has hard limits. The most sophisticated router cannot solve a coverage problem. It cannot negotiate a better data rate. Hardware enables the possible. It does not determine the outcome alone.

The Network Argument

MNOs argue that without their spectrum, infrastructure and roaming agreements, nothing connects. The eUICC chip is worthless without a profile, and profiles come from operators. MNOs also control something else: permanent roaming policy. Only an eSIM with a local operator profile truly resolves permanent roaming restrictions.

But MNOs are increasingly disintermediated by specialist IoT connectivity providers. The value proposition of a specific MNO in IoT often reduces to coverage geography – and coverage is exactly the variable multi-network eSIM management is designed to arbitrage.

The Management Platform Argument

Specialist IoT connectivity providers and eSIM platform operators argue that hardware is a commodity and networks are infrastructure, but the ability to orchestrate connectivity across both – making intelligent decisions about which profile is on which device at which moment – is where durable value lies.

This argument has real merit for large-scale deployments. A fleet of 50,000 smart meters with 20-year service lives will encounter multiple network changes, price adjustments and coverage improvements over that period. The organisation that manages the eIM and can execute profile changes across that fleet without physical intervention has significant ongoing value to the fleet owner.

The Honest Answer

The real hero of eSIM is the standard itself – specifically SGP.32. The GSMA specifications create a common language that allows hardware from different manufacturers, profiles from different operators and management platforms from different providers to interoperate. Without the standard, every eSIM deployment would be a proprietary island.

Within that framework, the value distribution depends on the use case. For enterprise IoT at scale with multi-operator requirements, the management platform operator holds the most leverage. For constrained IoT where hardware quality is critical, the device hardware matters most. For applications where coverage reliability is dominant, the MNO is the non-negotiable foundation. For most practical deployments, the answer is all three.

For a detailed look at the network players, see MNO, MVNO and eSIM Resellers. For the hardware landscape, see the eSIM Hardware Guide.