eSIM opportunities beyond smartphones
The adoption of eSIM technology has been more an evolution than revolution the telecom industry. Without the need to swap physical SIM cards, some network providers feared customers would find it much easier to leave their existing MNOs to save money or enjoy a better coverage or service. Good news for providers offering a strong quality of experience, less good news for those who don’t.
Nevertheless eSIM doesn’t purely a source of anxiety for MNOs (even for those concerned about losing out to stronger service providers). It can unlock huge growth opportunities because the technology makes it easy to tap into other consumer markets, such as smartwatches, tablets, laptops, and cars.
Consumer eSIM devices: Number of models by category
A wave of new mobile subscribers is coming
The Cisco Annual Internet Report forecasts the average number of devices and connections per user to grow from 2.4 in 2018 to 3.6 by 2023.
Fast growing markets such as smartwatches and smart vehicles alone are expected to rely 100% on eSIM by 2025, according to Counterpoint Research, and eSIM adoption is also growing rapidly across many other consumer markets.
“eSIM adoption is spreading beyond the early use cases of smartphones, which are likely to make up almost 50% of the eSIM capable device shipments by 2025, and IoT to categories such as wearables, automobiles, PCs and routers”
Karan Dasaor, Counterpoint Research
Despite the growth of the consumer eSIM market, MNOs are yet to fully maximize the available eSIM revenue opportunities because they are geared for existing technologies which are predominantly smartphones. They may also not be equipped with an eSIM management solution that would allow them to easily increase ARPU by seamlessly connecting as the full range of eSIM devices available in the market.
MNOs that are unable to take advantage of this unique upsell opportunity risk losing customers to more proactive competitors.
Consumer eSIM devices: Brand and category
Increase your revenues by investing in eSIM management
To make the most of the incoming tsunami of new eSIM devices, MNOs need to act now and implement a flexible and scalable eSIM management solution that makes it possible to onboard the next-generation of devices before they connect to a competitor’s network.
One such solution is an Entitlement server which is complementary to a telco’s eSIM management platform which can provision eSIM companion devices such as the Apple Watch. The entitlement server enables straightforward over-the-air configuration of device settings and a seamless eSIM activation.
Learn more about an entitlement server and how it can support subscription growth by reaching out to us below.
