VietNamNet Bridge - Apple SIM services are available in 140 countries, including in the Southeast Asian region, except for Vietnam because partners of Apple have not cooperated with local networks.

According to an announcement from Apple, Apple SIM services are now supported in 140 countries and territories around the world. Except for China and Vietnam, most of the countries in the region such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos have Apple SIM support networks.

To bring Apple SIM to these countries, Apple has signed contracts with major telecommunications companies such as AT&T, AU, EE, Sprint, Three, T Mobile, GigSky and AlwaysOnline Wireless. Of these, GigSky is the largest partner as it brings Apple SIM to more than 100 countries and territories.

In Southeast Asia, GigSky signed with most telecom networks (except for those in Vietnam) to provide the package of 500 MB/30 days of use, with the charges varying on each country. According to Zing News, GigSky has not reached agreements with telecom networks in Vietnamto bring Apple SIM to the country.

Although the domestic networks have not cooperated with GigSky to offer Apple SIM services in Vietnam, Vietnamese users can still use this service when traveling abroad.

For example, if they travel to Singapore, the users do not need to buy a SIM of this country but they can activate the Apple SIM in their iPad in order to use the 4G package, with 50 MB in capacity for three days for SGD15 (about $11).

The packages offered by GigSky are different depending on each country. To learn more about Apple SIM package at the destination, the user can access this address. Select country (Vietnam) and the destination country (to use Apple SIM so there is noneed to buy a SIM locally).

As the Apple SIM services are not available in Vietnam, international travelers have to purchase the SIM of Viettel, MobiFone or VinaPhone, ... instead of converting their networks on Apple SIM. Domestic users are not required to use this service in Vietnam because the 3G/4G packages in the country remain competitive.

Currently, Vietnamese users can subscribe to Apple SIM packages while traveling overseas if they have iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4, or iPad mini 3 and SIM of Apple SIM services (purchased at the Apple Store in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and USA). Apple SIM is not supported by iPhone and smartphones in general.

Apple SIM is a proprietary subscriber identity module (SIM) produced by Apple Inc. It is included in cellular-enabled versions of its iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4, and iPad Pro tablets in Apple Retail Stores in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Apple SIM supports wireless services across multiple supported carriers, which can be selected from a user interface within their operating systems, removing the need to install a SIM provided by the carrier itself. While Apple did not acknowledge the feature whilst presenting the iPad models that ship with Apple SIM, promotional materials on its website discuss the feature as being geared toward users of short-term mobile internet contracts across multiple carriers.

The Apple SIM is known as a Removable SIM with Remote Provisioning - it is a special SIM card that may be configured with different operator profiles. This is contrast to an embedded SIM (which is not removable) and may also be remotely provisioned. It appears that Apple has begun to include both types of SIM in their newer devices.

Nguyen Nam