In Europe, most users don’t have a contract with their phone company. They use mobile GSM smart card technology to pay for phone service as they need to add funds. In Europe, smart cards in mobile GSM technology has been in place since the 1990s.
The smart card in a mobile phone is called a subscriber information module card or SIM card. At least one American company uses this technology, but it is much more rare and not used for the pay and go capabilities like Europe.
The chip inserted into a phone contains the subscriber’s phone number. This means if the card is switched to another phone, the new phone has the old phone number. Allowing users to easily switch between phones and keep the same phone number.
Also included on a SIM card is the account information for the subscriber. This account information tells the phone what network the phone is using, or who the service provider for the card and the phone are. This allows a user to use a different phone with a different provider. This is quite different from phones in the United States. Often a phone can only be used with the original carrier and can’t be used on another network.
Europeans often switch providers. They pay for phone usage as they go by adding minutes to a card or by buying a new card to sign up for new service.
Some European companies lock their SIM phones so that they cannot be used with other companies. This makes switching companies more expensive and is an incentive for Europeans to stick with their current company. This is especially more common in the United Kingdom, where contract plans are also more common than in the rest of Europe.
Smart card technology allows European flexibility in using mobile services and paying for those services.
