SGP.02, SGP.22, and SGP.32: Why Enterprises Need All Three for the Next Five Years

In the cellular Internet of Things (IoT) industry, conversations around GSMA eSIM technology standards tend to focus on migration to the ‘next’ specification, with a prevailing narrative suggesting a linear transition from legacy Machine-to-Machine (M2M) standard SGP.02, to the new purpose-built IoT standard, SGP.32.

This narrative contains a flawed assumption however, that enterprises can upgrade their entire device estate in one fell swoop. Like most generational technology deployments, enterprise IoT estates will continue to evolve over many years and will feature hardware and software spanning multiple generations simultaneously.

So, for the next five years and possibly longer, SGP.32 will not replace SGP.02 wholesale, and consumer IoT standard SGP.22 may also get a look-in, meaning all three standards will coexist, making multi-technology estate management an operational necessity for global enterprises.

The Reality of Coexisting eSIM Standards

Many organizations with large IoT fleets have invested millions of dollars in legacy and current deployments that rely on earlier GSMA eSIM standards with different Remote SIM Provisioning (RSP) architectures. The three generations are:

• GSMA SGP.02, designed for M2M with SM-DP (Subscription Manager Data Preparation) and SM-SR (Subscription Manager Secure Routing), featuring an MNO-controlled ‘push’ model
• GSMA SGP.22, designed for consumer cellular devices, with a Local Profile Assistant (LPA), featuring a user or UI-driven ‘pull’ model
• GSMA SGP.32, designed for modern IoT with an IoT Profile Assistant (IPA) and eSIM manager, featuring an enterprise-driven ‘pull’ model

eSIM Standards Defined

SGP.02 (M2M): Introduced as the first global eSIM specification for M2M, SGP.02 relies on an operator-controlled ‘push’ model. Changing profiles requires complex backend integrations between Subscription Manager Data Preparation (SM-DP) and Subscription Manager Secure Routing (SM-SR) platforms, alongside bilateral Mobile Network Operator (MNO) agreements. The oldest and most widely-deployed standard. 

SGP.22 (Consumer): Developed primarily for smartphones and wearables, SGP.22 introduced a ‘pull’ model using a Local Profile Assistant (LPA). However, it assumes a human operator or user interface is present, such as a screen or camera to scan a QR code, and relies on SMS for profile delivery, making it ill-suited for headless or power-constrained IoT endpoints. While not widely deployed for IoT use cases, it’s not unheard of, especially in devices where a UI is available, like a kiosk or EV charging station.

SGP.32 (IoT): The latest specification, not yet widely deployed,  adapts the ‘pull’ model for IoT by splitting the LPA into an on-device IoT Profile Assistant (IPA) and a remote eSIM IoT Manager (eIM) hosted in the cloud, removing SMS dependencies and operator push barriers.

The Multi-Standard Challenge

Because IoT hardware lifespans typically range from 10 to 15 years in the field, existing SGP.02 and SGP.22 devices will remain active long after SGP.32 reaches full maturity. In fact, it will likely be several years before SGP.32 reaches deployment velocity, with SGP.02 deployments continuing in the meantime. 

Furthermore, different device categories, regional regulatory constraints (such as permanent roaming bans), and distinct business unit requirements mean that no single standard fits every use case.

Attempting to manage these disparate standards through separate vendor portals creates operational silos, fragmented estate visibility, inconsistent security policies, and a heavy support burden for enterprise IT and operations teams.

Moving from Provisioning to Orchestration

As enterprise IoT estates and the corresponding technologies behind them diversify, the primary challenge in cellular IoT shifts from provisioning individual SIM profiles to eSIM orchestration (eSO) across mixed environments.

It’s highly unlikely an enterprise will entertain a costly and risky ‘rip and replace’ migration onto newer IoT device hardware and newer estate management tools. So, businesses with IoT deployments will require a consistent operational abstraction layer that unifies management across legacy and next-generation connectivity standards. 

Specialist connectivity providers like Eseye approach eSIM orchestration as an overarching framework that absorbs technical complexity across SGP.02, SGP.22, SGP.32, and even multi-IMSI architectures. This allows organizations to introduce new standards at their own pace while maintaining business continuity, operational governance, and policy control across their entire IoT fleet.

How Eseye's Orchestration Solution Works

Eseye provides eSIM orchestration capabilities, supporting  all three generations of RSP - SGP.02, SGP.22, and SGP.32, through the Infinity Connectivity Management Platform (CMP), providing a unified operational experience regardless of the underlying SIM technology:

• Unified Management: Technical teams manage all SIM assets, across SGP.02, SGP.22, or SGP.32, from one centralized platform.
• Full SIM Lifecycle and RSP Support: Handles remote SIM provisioning, profile activation, switching, and deactivation across different GSMA architectures without exposing operators or IT teams to disparate backend tools.
• Policy-Driven Automation: Applies centralized business rules, such as cost boundaries, or local compliance requirements, to steer devices to the best network automatically.
• Abstraction of Operational Silos: Integrates multi-currency billing, session accounting, and troubleshooting logs into a single global contract and bill, eliminating carrier fragmentation.

Future-Proof Flexibility Without Migration Risk

By adopting a managed orchestration layer across SGP.02, SGP.22, and SGP.32, enterprises achieve significant strategic advantages for their IoT initiatives:

• Future-Proof Connectivity Strategy: Prepare the estate for incoming standards like SGP.32 and even upcoming standards, such as GSMA SGP.41/42 for In-Factory Profile Provisioning (IFPP), without invalidating existing hardware investments.
• Reduced Operational Complexity: Remove the need to negotiate separate carrier contracts or learn operator-specific CMPs for each device generation.
• Zero Forced Migration Risk: Eliminate the risk of stranded or orphaned devices caused by premature network sunsets or forced hardware replacements.
• Deployment Flexibility: Allow product teams to choose the most appropriate SIM technology, such as multi-IMSI for rapid low-cost rollouts, SGP.32 for constrained remote endpoints, or SGP.02 for legacy industrial assets, based on real use-case requirements rather than platform limits.

Typical Use Cases for Multi-Generational IoT Estate Management

Operating a multi-standard eSIM architecture is an essential capability across several long-life and multi-regional vertical IoT deployments:

• Smart Utilities and Energy Grids: Managing smart electricity and water meters with 10-to-15-year field lifespans deployed under SGP.02, while deploying new smart grid digital twins using SGP.32.
• Global Logistics and Asset Tracking: Tracking fleets and shipping containers across international borders where older assets use SGP.02 localization, and newer tracking tags leverage SGP.32 eIM switching to satisfy permanent roaming regulations.
• Connected Healthcare and Medical Wearables: Supporting legacy clinical monitoring equipment alongside new patient-monitoring devices that require lightweight CoAP/LwM2M protocols under SGP.32.
• Industrial IoT (IIoT) and Manufacturing: Factories operating legacy generations of robotics, predictive maintenance sensors, and SCADA systems across multiple regional facilities.

The Future of IoT Connectivity is Hybrid

Analysts at Transforma Insights expect SGP.32 to ultimately become the dominant Remote SIM Provisioning technology, with over 2.3 billion cellular connections predicted to be eUICC/RSP capable in 2032. But while the evolution of eSIM specifications reflects the rapid maturation of cellular IoT in the last decade, technical standards alone do not replace the operational realities of global IoT fleet management. With the multi-year lifespan of typical IoT initiatives, enterprises should expect to operate mixed connectivity environments containing SGP.02, SGP.22, and SGP.32 for years to come.

Long-term competitive advantage will not come from attempting a rapid, forced migration to the newest standard. Instead, it will belong to organizations that embrace a hybrid architecture, making good use of intelligent eSIM orchestration to deliver seamless visibility, complete compliance, and guaranteed continuity across every generation of IoT devices.