The European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) is working on a standard for a new, smaller SIM card, officially named 4FF - the fourth form factor - and widely referred to as nano-SIM. ETSI members were expected to vote on the new format at their Smart Card Platform plenary meetings held in the south of France, on Thursday and Friday, March 29 and 30, respectively.

A decision, however, has been postponed at least for another month, after intense negotiations over patents, as French media has reported. In a statement on Friday, March 30, the ETSI confirmed it is postponing its decision regarding nano-SIM until the end of May. "The committee decided to delay any vote on the subject in the interest of trying to achieve a broad industry consensus, which is in keeping with the preferred decision making process at ETSI," read the institute's statement.

Patent War for Nano-SIM Standard

Apple and Nokia, along with other manufacturers, are still battling over patents for the new nano-SIM. The ruling has been postponed after Nokia threatened to withhold more than 50 patent families which, it claims, are crucial for the implementation if Apple's proposal is adopted. According to Nokia, Apple's proposal does not comply with required specifications.

The nano-SIM format will be at least a third smaller than the micro-SIM found in today's smartphones, and all companies want to secure the format. The ETSI, the body responsible for setting the global standard of the format, aims to reach a consensus over the ideal standards for future technologies by polling its members. According to Los Echos, however, different views over which nano-SIM should be implemented have divided the industry, resulting in postponing the decision.

A Bicycle for a Mercedes?

On one hand, Apple has proposed its own nano-SIM card, claiming it will offer it on a royalty-free basis to other manufacturers. On the other hand, Nokia has proposed a different card, claiming it is 23 percent smaller and more in line with ETSI's specific requirements, unlike Apple's proposal. Nokia is backed by Motorola Mobility (soon to be taken over by Google) and BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM). According to a Nokia source reporting to the BBC, Apple's offer to allow royalty-free use of its card patents was "like offering a bicycle in order to borrow our Mercedes."

Meanwhile, RIM has taken it one step further, and has accused Apple of trying to meddle with the results. On Wednesday, March 28, RIM sent a letter to ETSI claiming that Apple is trying to vote "by proxy," registering its own employees for the meeting as representatives for other firms.

Nokia Threatens to Withhold Patents

According to ETSI, the nano-SIM must meet specific criteria, which include a stipulation that it must be not confused with existing SIM cards, so that consumers would not accidentally damage their phones by inserting the wrong type of card. Relying on this stipulation, Nokia claims Apple's proposed card is the same length as the current micro-SIM width, which would create confusion and therefore fails this requirement. Nokia further threatened that if Apple's proposal is adopted, it will withhold patents essential to this implementation.

"We are not prepared to get into a position where our technology is used to implement a standard that is technologically inferior, and doesn't meet ETSI's own requirements," said Mark Durant, Nokia's director of communications, as cited by the BBC.

(reported by Alexandra Burlacu, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)