The IoT eSIM market has had “almost there” moments. SGP.32 has been positioned as the standard that makes remote SIM provisioning practical for IoT fleets, but much of the conversation still lives in roadmaps.

That is why Onomondo’s partnership with Kigen is worth attention. The companies are offering Onomondo connectivity preloaded on Kigen’s GSMA-certified SGP.32 eUICC SIMs, with early customers already testing and deploying devices in Europe and North America. In practical terms, devices can leave the factory with connectivity onboard, instead of arriving in the field waiting for someone to scan a QR code, download a profile or fix provisioning after shipment.

Why it matters

SGP.32 is the GSMA’s eSIM IoT technical specification for remote provisioning and management of eUICCs in constrained IoT devices — the kind that may have no screen, no camera and limited power. GSMA lists SGP.32 v1.3 as active, published on 22 May 2026, which matters because enterprises are now separating “future standard” from “usable deployment path”.

The real shift is control. With older IoT connectivity models, the SIM and operator decision were often fixed before the device shipped. SGP.32 makes it easier to download, enable and switch operator profiles remotely, at fleet scale. Onomondo describes it as a way to support bulk network switching, multi-vendor strategies and efficient profile management through the IPA and eIM architecture.

READ MORE: Enterprise eSIM: The Buyer’s Guide to Global Workforce Connectivity

For a connected product company, that changes the economics. A smart meter, EV charger, tracker or industrial sensor may live in the field for years. Network quality changes, roaming rules shift, operators sunset technologies and compliance requirements become tougher. The old “ship once and hope” model looks fragile.

Hardware plus network

Kigen brings the secure eSIM and remote SIM provisioning layer: GSMA-certified, IoT-grade SGP.32 hardware across standard SIM form factors, solderable MFF2 and the tiny 2x2mm² MFF4 format. Onomondo brings connectivity and platform control, including its single core network across 180+ countries and real-time fleet visibility.

READ MORE: Onomondo Launches Unique SoftSIM to Transform Internet of Things

That combination matters because the SIM decision is tied to product design, certification, battery life, manufacturing and serviceability. Kigen gives the hardware and eIM foundation; Onomondo gives the global connectivity and operational view. The message is not simply “we support SGP.32”, but “you can start building around it now”.

The useful proof point

The timing is helped by the April 2026 IoT Stars test. IoT Stars tested SGP.32 in a multi-vendor environment using Kigen eSIMs, Kigen eIM, live MVNO profiles and multiple devices. The test included connectivity profiles from Onomondo, Soracom and ZARIOT, showing profile download, activation and switching in a live setting.

That does not answer every question about scale, commercial terms or operational complexity. But it moves the discussion away from “does this work in theory?” to “how should companies implement it properly?”

“There’s a lot of noise around SGP.32 right now between the announcements and roadmaps,” said Henrik Aagaard, CTO and Co-founder of Onomondo. “We’d rather show than tell. And we are proud to have customers deploying on our connectivity today with SGP.32 eSIMs, on Kigen’s certified eSIMs. We’ve always been committed to giving our customers the freedom to leave, and to choose connectivity that fits exactly what their business needs.”

“The combination of Kigen’s SGP.32 eSIM management solution and Onomondo’s global connectivity gives enterprises a proven foundation for security, interoperability, and scale without added complexity,” said Vincent Korstanje, CEO of Kigen.

“We are delighted to welcome Onomondo to the growing ecosystem of leading connectivity providers helping businesses scale IoT with confidence. As the first Nordic connectivity provider to be commercially available directly on Kigen eSIMs, Onomondo is helping simplify global IoT deployment and accelerate adoption across the region.”

A market moving the same way

Onomondo is not alone in pushing SGP.32 into commercial language. emnify has introduced an SGP.32 model around factory-ready bootstrap provisioning, remote profile switching and fallback resilience. KORE and Kigen have announced SGP.32 IoT connectivity solutions, with commercial availability planned for later in 2026, while floLIVE has launched operational support for GSMA SGP.32 through Kigen.

This is the real trend: IoT connectivity is becoming less about the plastic SIM and more about lifecycle control. The strongest providers will make connectivity manageable after the device has been sold, shipped, sealed or buried inside a product.

Still, SGP.32 is not automatically the right answer for every deployment. Onomondo itself says that for broad coverage, operator consolidation or backup connectivity, a simpler global IoT SIM may be enough; SGP.32 makes more sense when one SKU needs different operators by region, or where a local profile is required and the SIM cannot be swapped.

Conclusion

The Onomondo-Kigen partnership signals that SGP.32 is entering the phase where product teams can make practical decisions.

Compared with emnify’s cloud-native SuperNetwork positioning, KORE’s enterprise-scale portfolio, floLIVE’s orchestration angle and Soracom/ZARIOT’s interoperability role, Onomondo’s strongest argument is freedom: use certified hardware, preload connectivity, keep visibility, and avoid locking the device’s lifetime to a single provider decision made too early.

The open question is how smoothly this scales once enterprises move from pilots to thousands or millions of devices across regions, regulations and network conditions. But the direction is clear. IoT connectivity is becoming programmable infrastructure. SGP.32 will not remove complexity completely, but it gives serious IoT builders a better way to manage it.