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ETSI vote on nano-SIM standard postponed due to dispute between Apple and Nokia

ETSI vote on nano-SIM standard postponed due to dispute between Apple and Nokia

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The ETSI vote scheduled for this week to decide on a new nano-SIM standard has been delayed by a month following patent-related disputes between the proposing companies.

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Verizon 4G LTE SIM Card (1020)
Verizon 4G LTE SIM Card (1020)

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute is becoming a well-known name these days, following all the back and forth between two camps vying for its approval of a new nano-SIM standard. Alas, like most industry bodies of its size, ETSI has managed to reach an impasse in its decision making today, as reported by French daily Les Echos. The meeting taking place this week won't culminate in a vote, as originally planned, due to fundamental disagreements among the parties involved. Nokia has openly refused to license its SIM-related patents should Apple's nano-SIM proposal be taken up, whereas SanDisk has threatened legal action with respect to Nokia's proposed standard, which looks like a microSD card and may be infringing on the intellectual property rights of a consortium that SanDisk is part of. Les Echos adds that this postponement will be for a minimum of 30 days, as stipulated by ETSI regulations, meaning we now get another month to chew over who's right, who's wrong, and who's even more wrong.