Demand from emerging markets Brazil, India and China drove SIM card sales 29% higher last year, according to the industry body SIMalliance.
The group, whose members include Datang, Gemalto and Sagem Orga, accounts for 90% of SIM card sales, shipped 2.9 billion SIM cards in 2009.
"The results, despite the global economic downturn, are encouraging," chairman Michel Canitrot told a SIM industry conference.
SIM memory size increased by 11% and the number of cards shipped with a browser rose 22%. 3G-enabled cards represented 14% of total shipments in 2008.
Canitrot said the group was working with S@T, MarkUp Language, Mobile NFC, Smart Card Web Server to speed the development of SIM technology for next generation mobile services.