The Secret Life of SIM Cards: Java Card and SIM Toolkit

HN cites it as the go-to overview of what SIM cards can run and do, usually in threads about Java Card, SIM attacks or phone security.

A DEF CON 21 talk by Karl Koscher and Eric Butler on how SIM cards work, including Java Card applets, the SIM toolkit and the OS running on the card. It shows how much control the network and the card have independent of the phone.