The eSIM Revolution: Benefits for Users, MNOs, and the Environment 

If you were beginning to think the only thing left to innovate on your connected devices was another camera or a facial recognition feature, you're wrong. 

The technology that’s been revolutionizing the connected world is the embedded SIM card (eSIM). This hardware component is a rewritable chip that already comes pre-installed in most smart devices, granting it OTA (over-the-air) access to networks for seamless connectivity. This has removed the need to separately purchase a SIM card, as customers can join mobile network plans through a quick tap within the software itself. 

You might not be able to see it, but the eSIM is the game-changer already in your pocket. 

eSIM technology started with industrial devices and a few advanced gadgets, but by now is incorporated into almost all smartphone technology. It offers customers seamless connectivity with their network and other devices. The eSIM has already empowered exponential growth in the IoT community via connectivity across multiple platforms. 

What eSIMs do for customers 

Convenience. On the more trivial end of the spectrum, it means that when your smartphone, smartwatch or tablet arrives, it’s a truly out-of-the-box gadget. You don’t have to put the SIM card in manually or, as some more mature readers will remember, wait hours for the SIM card to activate. It's been a pivotal shift in how we purchase our connected technology. 

More fundamentally, the eSIM grants the user greater choice and tighter control over their own connectivity. Because customers are able to change network provider at the touch of a button, they have access to a broader and richer range of network deals to suit their needs. 

This has been especially beneficial for travelers who finally are able to rid themselves of exorbitant roaming charges. Customers can simply switch to a local network wherever they are in the world. 

Some of the current-gen smartphones incorporate both an eSIM chip and a SIM tray, allowing for the equivalent of a dual SIM plan, which is popular in many Asian markets. Increasingly we’re seeing eSIM-only devices, a development spearheaded by the ever-influential Apple.  

What's in it for MNOs? 

The eSIM isn't just a convenience for customers. It opened the door for mobile operators to offer a more widely available variety of device connectivity. Seamless networks drawn between devices has created a smoother technological interactions. Mobile networks use this new IoT connectivity to create bundle deals that better appeal to consumers. 

eSIM technology presents a range of opportunities for service providers to market themselves more effectively. Because users are able to OTA connect to a mobile network, this has introduced a greater number of touch-points for networks to build relationships with their customers. Where once a physical plastic chip had to be procured, now getting a new data plan is as simple as scanning QR codes from a page or screen. 

What eSIMs do for manufacturers 

Phone manufacturers are constantly trying to provide a better, more convenient experience for consumers. To do this, device space (or 'tech real estate') needs to be made available to provide new features. The eSIM is an ideal method for obtaining this coveted space. The removal of the SIM tray has enabled manufacturers such as Apple access to add yet more amazing features to our phones. 

What eSIMs do for the environment 

A frequently overlooked advantage of the eSIM is that it also limits the production of plastic. The phasing-out of physical cards will save 30,000 tons of plastic every year, plus all the packaging and distribution needed to ship the six billion SIM cards produced annually around the world. 

Every year, mobile networks continue to trash large numbers of physical SIMs because of miscalculations in scale. As the embedded chip shares the lifetime of the device itself, only one eSIM each ever needs to be produced.  

Find out how 1GLOBAL is building a better future, here.