The commercial launch of mobile eSIM promotes the accelerated implementation of IoT eSIM.
Recently, China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom, the three major operators, have officially obtained the approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) for the commercial trial of eSIM in mobile phones. They have launched eSIM mobile phone services nationwide. This means that the long - awaited full - scale application of eSIM technology in mobile phones in the industry has finally become a reality. Mainstream mobile phone manufacturers support eSIM, and relevant models will be launched successively.
Of course, eSIM is not a new thing. However, due to years of interest games among multiple parties, its application in mobile phones has not been smooth.
Besides mobile phones, the cellular Internet of Things (IoT) is another major battlefield for eSIM applications, and it is a field with more rapid development. Currently, eSIM has been widely used in smart wearables, smart meters, vehicle networking, industrial Internet, and other fields, providing convenient means for network access in various IoT scenarios. From the user's perspective, the demand for IoT eSIM is stronger, and its support for scenarios is more obvious. The full - scale commercialization of eSIM in mobile phones will accelerate the improvement of the entire eSIM industry chain and objectively promote the further development of IoT eSIM.
The Value of IoT eSIM to Users is Obvious
Recently, there has been a lot of publicity about eSIM, and the basic concept of eSIM has been widely popularized. As a new form of the user identity recognition module for cellular communication devices, eSIM has multiple significant advantages over physical SIM cards. One obvious advantage is that it supports the elimination of the SIM card slot, saving some space for various terminals and bringing tangible benefits to the miniaturization design and heat dissipation of devices. In addition, traditional SIM cards rely on metal contacts. In harsh environments such as frequent vibrations, high temperature and humidity, and salt spray, they are prone to poor contact or oxidation, leading to communication interruptions. As an embedded module, eSIM has greatly improved reliability in this regard. Besides these obvious benefits, eSIM also has many hidden advantages. Saving the supply - chain logistics cost is a typical one. Since there is no need for physical SIM cards, the production, packaging, logistics, and inventory of cards can be greatly simplified, saving costs for relevant manufacturers. Users can also obtain a "seamless" network access experience, as there is no need for manual card replacement when switching networks, and terminal maintenance is simpler.
The above advantages of eSIM can be clearly reflected in both mobile phones and the IoT. However, in the author's opinion, on the user side, IoT eSIM is easier to implement than mobile phone eSIM, and its significance seems to be more obvious.
First, compared with mobile phones, the importance of identity recognition for IoT numbers is relatively low, making it easier to switch networks. For users, eSIM supports remote network configuration and terminal switching, giving users the right to flexibly choose network service providers. However, in actual operation, the mobile phone number is currently a strong identifier of personal identity. The mobile phone number is an important or even the only means of identifying personal identity in scenarios such as contacts and Internet accounts. In this context, even if there are obvious differences in the fees of different operators, users still have certain concerns when changing numbers through eSIM. The convenient number change brings a series of subsequent hidden costs in social and life aspects. For IoT terminals, although each terminal also has a dedicated number, this number does not have an identity attribute. It is only an identifier for the device management platform to operate the device. After network switching, the new number will not bring subsequent hidden costs, so it is easier to implement.
Second, the characteristics of IoT terminals have a natural demand for eSIM. On the one hand, many IoT terminals are deployed in harsh environments. For example, vehicle networking terminals need to deal with continuous bumps and vibrations when the car is moving, environmental monitoring terminals need to deal with high - temperature and high - humidity weather, and some industrial production terminals need to deal with strong electromagnetic and chemical pollution. These are harsh environments that mobile phone terminals will not face, and eSIM is the best solution in these environments. On the other hand, the current network deployment for mobile phone terminal communication is relatively complete. Each operator has invested a lot of energy in network construction and optimization, basically ensuring the normal communication of most mobile phones. However, many IoT terminals are located in environments that may not have complete network coverage. In addition, even if there are obstacles in mobile phone communication, there are still many low - cost ways to ensure the connection between people. However, some IoT terminals are deployed in fixed positions. If there are communication obstacles, it will cost a lot to improve their access capabilities, and the benefits are relatively small. In this context, providing more convenient network configuration and switching for IoT terminals can solve this problem at a relatively low cost to a certain extent.
Generally speaking, from the user's perspective, eSIM can bring a significant experience upgrade to mobile phone users. However, in the short term, it will take some time for users to accept eSIM, and it will also take time for smart phones to launch models supporting eSIM. Compared with mobile phone eSIM, IoT eSIM is more meaningful on the user side. Driven by this round of policies supporting the full - scale commercialization of mobile phone eSIM, the implementation of IoT eSIM is expected to accelerate.
The Commercialization of Mobile Phone eSIM Objectively Promotes the Accelerated Implementation of IoT eSIM
Looking at the past development process, the commercialization of IoT eSIM has been relatively smoother than that of mobile phone eSIM. According to data from Counterpoint, by the end of 2023, the number of eSIM connections in the IoT field was close to 200 million. It is estimated that by the end of 2030, the number of eSIM connections in the IoT field will reach 2.2 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 43%.
In China, the full - scale application of eSIM in the IoT field has a history of more than 5 years. As early as December 2019, the MIIT approved China Unicom to carry out eSIM technology application services in fields such as the IoT. Subsequently, in September 2020, it also approved China Telecom and China Unicom to carry out eSIM technology application services in the IoT and other fields. In the approvals for these three operators, they were all allowed to carry out eSIM technology application services in the IoT and other fields nationwide. At the same time, the three operators were required to strictly abide by the relevant requirements of number management and only use 13 - digit IoT numbers for IoT eSIM technology applications. In recent years, the three operators have continued to promote IoT eSIM. For example, in October 2020, China Mobile IoT conducted an eSIM wafer procurement project, including 40 million consumer - grade eSIM wafers and 30 million industrial - grade eSIM wafers.
The "eSIM in China: The Road Ahead" report released by GSMA pointed out that enterprises surveyed in China generally agree that the adoption of eSIM technology is crucial for promoting the development of the IoT market in the next 5 to 10 years. The development prospects of eSIM in China show that the three vertical industries of automotive (connected and autonomous vehicles), logistics, and energy and utilities (smart metering) will have outstanding performance.
In comparison, on the mobile phone eSIM side, users' awareness is not high. The international communication service provider Proximus Global once surveyed more than 6,500 adult consumers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. The data shows that only 23% of respondents worldwide have used eSIM, with 27% in China. In response to the question "Do you know about eSIM?", 33% of respondents said they knew, and 42% said they were "not sure if their mobile phones support eSIM".
However, the progress of IoT eSIM has not been smooth either. The "Global IoT eSIM Module and iSIM Chip Module Market Tracker" report updated by IoT Analytics in September 2024 shows that in the cellular IoT modules shipped in the second quarter of 2024, one - third (33%) support eSIM, while the proportion of modules using physical SIM cards is 62.3%, and the rest use soft SIM technology. IoT Analytics believes that interoperability issues and complex RSP standards are the reasons for the slow adoption, which leads to device management complexity.
This time, the MIIT's approval for the three operators to conduct a commercial trial of eSIM mobile phones nationwide will greatly enhance users' awareness. At the same time, although this is an eSIM policy for the mobile phone field, the author believes that it can objectively drive the development and implementation of IoT eSIM. Driven by policies, the industrial ecosystem of mobile phone eSIM is constantly improving, which objectively promotes the improvement of the IoT eSIM industry chain.
The "Research Report on Hot Issues in the eSIM Industry (2025)" by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology pointed out that all links in China's eSIM industry chain have formed a complete industrial layout, covering major fields such as chip design and manufacturing, module R & D, platform services, terminal equipment, and basic telecommunications operators. In the chip design and manufacturing link, domestic enterprises have strong technical strength, and their products are widely used in global consumer electronics and IoT devices. In the module R & D link, many domestic enterprises have launched eSIM modules and connection management platforms that meet international standards, providing full - life - cycle management for eSIM devices. In the platform service link, the eSIM IoT management platforms of many domestic enterprises provide services for many global operators and device manufacturers. In the terminal equipment link, domestic enterprises such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, OPPO, and vivo have launched many smart devices supporting eSIM, which are widely used globally. In the basic telecommunications operator link, China Unicom, China Mobile, and China Telecom have all launched eSIM services and cooperate with device manufacturers to continuously explore and promote the innovation and application of eSIM technology.
It can be seen that the industrial ecosystems of mobile phone eSIM and IoT eSIM highly overlap. Previously, the awareness of mobile phone eSIM was not high. However, with the advancement of policies, the attention of all parties has been further improved, which will greatly promote the continuous improvement of the industrial ecosystem. Counterpoint analysts believe that mobile terminals such as mobile phones are the best medium to enhance awareness. When eSIM becomes more popular in low - cost smart phones, the adoption of eSIM will truly make a breakthrough. As the awareness of mobile phone users increases, the awareness of the IoT will naturally reach a higher level.
In addition, GSMA has released a new eSIM IoT specification SGP.32, which provides a more structured remote SIM configuration method on the basis of the original standard and is suitable for IoT devices with limited network access and no user interface. This specification ensures interoperability between different deployment scenarios and provides mechanisms for secure eUICC management, profile deployment, and life - cycle management. Service providers can simplify the device activation process, reduce operating costs, and improve security while maintaining the flexibility of network connection. As the specification becomes more popular, the technical obstacles of eSIM will be continuously removed.
The policy effects of eSIM are continuously being released. At the same time, with the development of technology and the product innovation of eSIM suppliers, the adoption of eSIM IoT products will be further accelerated. The development of network technologies such as 5G, RedCap, and NTN will further promote device manufacturers to improve device coverage, and the demand for eSIM in the future will be more urgent.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Internet of Things Think Tank" (ID: iot101), author: Zhao Xiaofei, published by 36Kr with authorization.