Apple fought a hard battle to standardize its own model nano-SIM and his efforts were crowned with success because ETSI, the European body that administers these standards, decided that Apple's design should be used in future cards. At the moment it seems like millions of such cards were ordered by mobile phone operators who want to be prepared for the launch iPhone 5 and to avoid the situation from 2 years ago when the iPhone 4 was launched but they did not have micro-SIMs.
Operators expect that the iPhone will feature the nano sim in a slimmed down design, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation, and have begun to store millions of the cards in warehouses in anticipation of high demand for Apple's iPhone. Apple declined to comment. Operators were caught off guard by the adoption of the micro Sim for the iPhone 4 as well as the original iPad two years ago, with some struggling to meet demand with their own micro-Sims in the first weeks of sale. One informed person said that the major networks were keen to be ahead of demand this time, however. He added that the iPhone 5 was likely to be similarly sized as the iPhone 4 although slimmer and with a fully metal body.
In one of the video clips in which we were presented with an alleged prototype of the iPhone 5, it could be seen that the device has a new slot for SIM cards, and the haste with which Apple standardized this design denotes the fact that it will be implemented in the iPhone 5. The launch of the new terminal should take place in October of this year at the latest and it seems that the operators will have at their disposal all the cards we need to use the new terminals.
