Did eSIM Technology Live up to the Hype? 

"What's the catch?" 

It's often the first question we ask when we hear news that seems too good to be true. There's an understandable reluctance to believe the hype, especially when a new technology begins to build an enthusiastic following. 

In online journalism, the benefits and potential of an innovation will often be exaggerated in an attempt to drive clicks and views. It's understandable that commentators and consumers alike might be suspicious, especially when something launched to universal acclaim. 

This was exactly the case with eSIM technology. In the years leading up to its general launch and adoption, there was a slew of increasingly enthusiastic articles and opinion pieces forecasting its many benefits. Numerous magazines and news outlets had championed the technology  as ground-breaking, revolutionary, and a leap into the future. 

Inevitably, some skeptics pushed back, perhaps believing that the reports on embedded SIMs must be hyperbolic or exaggerated. The fact that it really was worth that level of excitement makes reviewing these concerns all the more important. 

We're going to look back on some of the most commonly recurring points raised by early opponents of eSIM, and how the tech ultimately overcame them. But first: what were they opposing? 

The next big thing is already here 

Since the physical SIM card's conception and launch back in 1991 there had not been a great deal of evolution in the area. The removable SIM gave our phones and devices connectivity, and while these small plastic chips had certainly shrunk, they remained present. Until eSIMs. 

The eSIM fulfilled the same function as the regular removable SIM, and then some. The rewritable chip, built directly onto a device's motherboard, allows a phone's components to be entirely self-contained. 

It was justifiably called the next big thing in telecommunications, and here's why. 

With an eSIM-enabled device, consumers could now enjoy out-of-the-box connectivity, without having to procure a SIM card separately. A user just turned their device on, download the data plan of their choosing, and got online. 

This opened a range of new options, with remote SIM provisioning blowing the operator market wide open, and put enhanced IoT capabilities and much more on the table. With a host of obvious benefits, why did some people doubt its credibility? 

Roaming redefined 

One of the first benefits that became apparent with an eSIM was its ability to eliminate roaming charges abroad. 

With the eSIM, when you touch down in a new country, you can simply download a local plan onto your device. The user pays local rates (or less) and avoids unnecessary charges. 

However, critics at the time claimed that this function wasn't necessary, because there was already an answer to the problem. 

The suggested solution was, apparently, to buy a different SIM card for whatever country you happen to be in. This would then be used in either your regular device or in a second handset, bought specifically for this purpose. 

To be fair, it was technically true up to a point, particularly  in countries which didn’t enforce Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. But when customers weighed these two options up in practice, there was a clear winner. With an eSIM in your device, be it a smartphone, a connected watch, or anything else you rely on for connectivity  you can host multiple SIM profiles. You get to keep your own number, and you can download the profile you need even before you travel. Getting a new plan is as fast and simple as downloading an app. 

The real strength of the eSIM became clear in its capacity to streamline and simplify. A specific function might be achievable without it (albeit involving multiple devices, numerous different SIMs, and the need to physically change the card and your phone number every time you want a new plan) but the eSIM made that process intuitive, easy, and ultimately stress-free. 

Instant connectivity 

Another issue that was often raised as a counterargument to eSIM's promised advantages was the on-boarding process. 

An influential LinkedIn article at the time,  which had been quoted in other online think-pieces, pointed out this perceived problem. How could you go online and download your plan if you didn't already have a SIM profile to begin with? 

The issue was specifically framed as an obstacle to gaining connectivity when travelling. It’s also worth keeping in mind, for the sake of fairness, that Wi-Fi was less ubiquitous as it is now.  However, at home or abroad, this was found not to be a problem at all as eSIM-enabled devices turned out to all come with a certain degree of in-built connectivity. As an industry leader 1GLOBAL helped pioneer many of the systems underpinning this, including bootstrap connectivity for instant connections built into eSIM entirely independently of any purchased data plan. 

With this in place, devices were always able to access a selection of operators and plans wherever you are. It's was a regularly misunderstood aspect of the eSIM's user experience prior to launch, and still one often overlooked even today, but it remains an essential element in device connectivity. 

Information is key 

"I don't understand - how can it connect without a data plan?" 

This was arguably the single most common objections to eSIMs before they became every day. It seemed like a fairly logical pushback at the time, but in practice it was just evidence of a lack of information. 

It was just as true then as it is now that the more consumers know and understand about eSIM, the more apparent the benefits become. As this technology grew progressively more demystified, the more assured its place became as the cornerstone of modern telecommunications and connected device manufacturing. 

At 1GLOBAl, we don’t blame the early critics. When there's that much hype around an innovation, there will always be dissenting voices born out of a lack of understanding. With eSIM, the best antidote to this was the product itself.