[milkytron]

You don't need SIM cards to do this.

I used to be a phone farmer back when I was school a few years ago (didn't know it was called that or that there was even a community around it). Any device with a WiFi connection worked at that point. Not sure if that's changed but I doubt it.

Also in the article they mentioned people virtualizing the process. It apparently is possible, but the farmers don't think it's worth it.