The Rise of eSIM
In a world where connectivity is becoming increasingly integral to how we live, work, interact and transact, the search for new, simpler, faster and more efficient ways to connect has become a full time occupation.
Nowhere is this felt more keenly than the mobile industry. With more than half the world’s internet traffic now carried via 3G and 4G LTE networks, with the Internet of Things creating demand for billions of new devices, and with 5G on the horizon, mobile has the opportunity to dominate global connectivity. According to one estimate, mobile will account for 25.2 billion connections by 2025, contributing $4.8 trillion in economic value - close to 5% of total global GDP.
Mobile to account for 25.2 billion connections by 2025, contributing $4.8 trillion in economic value - close to 5% of total global GDP.
But if the industry is to achieve those heights, one of the challenges it faces is how to make the connectivity path between device and network seamless and universal, meaning any device can connect to any network in any location.
The current model for provisioning mobile device connectivity - having the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) installed on a removable chip - was designed more than 30 years ago when the market for cellular technology was very different to what it is today. Removable SIM was not developed to meet the demands of mass deployments of connected industrial components, nor for a consumer market where people might want to run several different devices on the same network service.
The one SIM, one operator model no longer fits with a society that increasingly views mobility in a global context, with consumers who are no longer prepared to pay a huge roaming premium to connect to local networks when they travel, to industries like vehicle manufacturing which want their smart cars, vans and trucks to remain online seamlessly as they cross borders. The need to remove a SIM and install another one just to change network operator is an inconvenience and a barrier to mobile’s continued growth.
Embedded SIM or e-SIM - the technological development of hard-wiring the subscriber identity module and/or universal integrated circuit card (UICC) into a device rather than leaving it on a removable chip - is widely viewed as a key step forward in achieving seamless cellular connectivity for all devices, wherever they happen to be. Together with the GSMA’s work on developing an international standard for provisioning network services over the airwaves, e-SIM is viewed as a means of providing the flexibility, mobility, convenience and freedom of choice in cellular connectivity which will allow the mobile industry to take full advantage of the next generation of technological developments and changing user trends.
eSIM is a key step forward in achieving seamless cellular connectivity for all devices
In this report, we will provide an update on where we stand with e-SIM development in 2019, and where the technology might be taking us. We will look at the current state of play of e-SIM in the market, focusing particularly on why we’ve yet to see other smartphone manufacturers follow the lead of Apple and Google in developing e-SIM fitted handsets. We will look at what MVNOs are doing to prepare for e-SIM, we will highlight current and future monetization opportunities and the kind of services the market is likely to expect, and we will also focus in on the role e-SIM is playing in rapidly maturing IoT markets around the world.
