Why Every Customer-Facing Brand Has an Embedded Connectivity Opportunity

For decades, telecoms was an untappable market. Providing a mobile service required such vast physical infrastructure and esoteric knowledge that the global telecommunications industry was, in practice, governed by a handful of companies. This imbalance began to shift in the 1990s, with the advent of MVNOs (Mobile Network Virtual Operators), or companies that repackaged and resold network access from larger carriers, direct to consumers.

In recent years, the eSIM has similarly upended the industry. Software-based SIM profiles mean that customers can download and install network connectivity on their device simply by clicking a button in an app or website. eSIMs can be hosted and sold through nearly any digital interface, exponentially increasing the number of companies that can now offer their users mobile services.

Today, this means that any customer-facing company with a digital presence, no matter how small, can sell mobile plans. The two main requirements are an app or website (which covers nearly every customer-facing business) and customers that own smartphones (which covers pretty much every customer type).

The technology has flipped the script completely. Instead of gauging their own technical capabilities, companies can now begin by assessing their customer base instead: if demand exists for a telecommunications service, there's nothing stopping them from supplying one.

When to launch a mobile service

Not every white-label eSIM service is created equal, however — the embedded telecoms market covers a vast spectrum of services, integration styles, costs, and coverage options.

Here, we explore how any digital brand can enter the market, while maintaining control over their branding, product quality and pricing, outsourcing the technical aspects to the experts while keeping a steer on their customer relationships.

There are instances where telecommunications makes sense, and the means of implementing them can also differ. A telecommunications service is not a miracle cure. Equally important is how it's implemented, and the benefits it brings both customers and the brand. This requires an experienced, reliable MVNO partner with proven results.

Start with customer needs

Embedded telco gives brands the freedom to decide whether a mobile service makes sense for their goals – and then the option to implement one. There are two approaches here:

• 1) Brands can either assess their user base to determine if a mobile service naturally adds value and fits within their general purview. This is often the case with travel-oriented brands like airlines, hotel groups, and travel booking platforms.

• 2) Alternatively, they can use a mobile service to attract new customers, expand their offering into a new market entirely, and pivot from a specific industry to a more diversified portfolio.

Method 1 in action: Jazeera Airlines

Jazeera Airlines partnered with 1GLOBAL to add a travel eSIM service to its mobile app and website. When booking a trip, passengers can now add mobile data plans for their destination and stay online during their trip without roaming fees. Here, a travel eSIM solved a genuine customer need without requiring a complete mobile proposition – the service is a simple add-on during the booking process, and presented as a white-label eSIM service, fully integrated into the Jazeera Airlines app.

Method 2 in action: Lidl

Last month, the supermarket giant Lidl launched a domestic, eSIM-based mobile service in Ireland in partnership with 1GLOBAL. This is Lidl's first eSIM service and reveals how accessible and widespread the technology has become.

As Lidl’s recent foray into telecommunications shows, customers are more than happy to purchase digital services from trusted brands, even if the company has no prior experience in the field: customer relations come first. In Lidl’s case, over 100,000 users signed up to the mobile plans within days of launch.

Connectivity can fit almost any industry

The Lidl case is notable not just for the scale of the implementation, but how clearly it illustrates that telco is no longer forbidden knowledge, available only to an inner circle of multinational mobile carriers.

From a customer standpoint, it just makes sense. Mobile service is just another daily essential – why shouldn’t you be able to buy it from the supermarket? This is the new decision-making process driving growth in the white-label eSIM sector. Brands have the freedom and the ability to consider customer needs first, rather than their technical capabilities.

Revolut: from banking to telecoms in one year

In the same way that mobile phones have evolved from a mere means of contact to an essential lifestyle requirement, new connectivity services are emerging. Travel is a classic example: an internet connection is now one of the first things visitors require on arriving in a new country. No longer a luxury, mobile data is needed for everything from booking an Uber to translating menus, checking into hotels, and buying public transport tickets.

A booming travel eSIM industry has already sprung up to serve this need, offering customers short-term, single-use mobile data plans for overseas visits. Increasingly, though, travelers are cutting out the middleman and booking these roaming plans through brands they already know. The personal finance app Revolut worked with 1GLOBAL to incorporate this service into their platform.

Rather than seek out a third-party provider, Revolut account holders simply book a travel eSIM through their existing banking app, and can even purchase plans with RevPoints, Revolut's customer loyalty system. While banking and telecommunications may seem like disparate industries, Revolut eSIMs dovetail neatly with the app’s wider range of travel-oriented services like discounted Airport lounge access and foreign currency transfers. The same pattern can be seen with more traditional financial giants American Express, which also bolstered its travel-oriented offering with an eSIM service.

Both examples show how eSIMs can be a practical, relevant addition to a digital service, even when they may at first appear to be from separate industries.

Start small, then build out

Brands don't need to become their customers' primary mobile provider overnight.

Let’s return briefly to travel eSIMs: these are an ideal proving ground for integrating new telecommunications products, as they are typically short-term, one-off purchases at relatively low prices; they allow customers and providers alike the opportunity to dip a toe into the eSIM world. Their impact on brand loyalty and customer retention is well documented. For some brands, this is enough. For others, it provides the foundation for a strategic shift into becoming a fully-fledged mobile provider.

N26 and the white-label eSIM

Revolut and N26 are two digital banks that followed this blueprint. Both initially worked with 1GLOBAL to add travel eSIMs to their platform. Once this first step had proven to be successful, they expanded into longer-term domestic mobile plans. Customers can now enjoy the same simplicity as travel eSIMs in their primary mobile plan.

After first launching domestic services in Poland in December 2025, Revolut has since extended its domestic mobile services to Germany and the Netherlands, with plans in place for further expansion. In less than two years, Revolut has grown its mobile service to become a multinational provider of domestic and international plans. At every stage, the brand has been able to test new services and make informed decisions

As a digital product, the format in which brands offer their mobile plans is near-infinite. Mobile connectivity can be bundled with other products, or offered as a loyalty perk. Again, Revolut provides a real-world example: as well as allowing users to pay for mobile plans with RevPoints, the bank also includes mobile data as an included benefit in their higher-tier paid accounts.

Tactics like these illustrate how brands are treating embedded telco as more than a quick source of income. By incorporating a domestic mobile service in its app, a supermarket brand like Lidl can up its customer engagement touchpoints from weekly to daily. These strategies are now backed by enthusiastic customer adoption. Lidl has already announced ambitions for further launches in “up to 30 countries”.

You don't need to build a telco to become one

So how does this integration actually happen? It’s clear that Lidl isn’t constructing mobile masts and hiring telecoms executives at record speed.

The mobile infrastructure and know-how are outsourced and operated by existing mobile carriers like 1GLOBAL – the mobile service that Lidl customers see “piggybacks” on this network, providing carrier-grade connectivity, wrapped up in the familiar UX of the Lidl Connect app.

The brand still governs the customer-facing aspects of the service, from pricing to UI design and customer service.

This is made possible by a telecom API integration, where highly sophisticated telecommunications software is flawlessly embedded within a consumer app like Lidl Connect. The extent to which the customer-facing brand controls the performance, pricing, and appearance of service depends on their telecoms partner and the type of API integration used.

1GLOBAL operates a full-stack telecom API, integrating a suite of front- and backend processes with the partner’s existing UI, providing deep technical integration while maintaining the app or website’s existing layout, appearance, and user journey. This is essential to delivering on the promise of embedded teclo: a carrier-grade service, encased in a familiar and user-friendly exterior.

Delivering the right embedded connectivity service for your customers

In just a few years, eSIM mobile plans have evolved from a niche travel service and a young, digitally-savvy audience to a mainstream connectivity product, due in no small part to integrations in mass-market brands like Lidl, Walmart, and American Express. By 2030, eSIMs are expected to overtake SIM cards as the standard global SIM format.

1GLOBAL Embedded Telco is the platform that allows virtually any customer-facing business to explore mobile services without building telecom infrastructure. Partners decide what connectivity should look like for their customers; 1GLOBAL makes it possible behind the scenes.

Through a single integration, connectivity becomes another feature within the partner's existing ecosystem. Discover how 1GLOBAL helps businesses launch, develop and scale their own white-label eSIM services, or contact our team directly.