What is the eSIM

We know SIM cards very well, but do you know about eSIM? Are you familiar with eSIM? There are some points about eSIM you need to know. Before describing the eSIM, we need to have a brief introduction to SIM cards.

What is a SIM card?

A SIM card is provided by an ISP or carrier and is widely used in many types of mobile devices, especially cellphones and cellular routers, wireless CPE, RTU, etc. It’s a Subscriber Identity Module that sits in a special tray and slides into a device like a drawer. It’s typically supplied by a carrier and programmed with your device’s unique serial number, IMEI, ICCID, authentication key, the device PIN, SMS messages, and so on.

What is an eSIM?

An embedded SIM, also called eSIM, cannot be removed and it is invisible. It’s a programmable SIM card that’s physically connected (soldered) to the motherboard. It does everything an external SIM card does, only you can’t physically remove it without breaking open the phone and unsoldering the chip.

The eSIM stands for electronic Subscriber Identity Module and aims to be the virtual equivalent of the physical SIM card. You can activate and subscribe to cellular services from more than one mobile operator without having to insert a new physical SIM in your particular device.

What is the advantage and disadvantage of eSIM compared with a traditional SIM card?

First, if you want to change a new ISP’s service, you have to change a new SIM card by removing the old SIM card. For instance, when traveling abroad using phones with removable SIM cards, you must swap to another carrier’s SIM card to keep mobile coverage. Likewise, if you wanted to switch local carriers but keep your phone, you’d discard the older carrier’s card and install the new ISP’s SIM card.

However, eSIM technology makes switching carriers much easier. Instead of waiting for a new SIM card, you can make the switch right on your phone, as there are a few new settings devoted to your eSIM card that allow you to switch between lines and carriers and manage accounts. If you’re a dual-SIM user, eSIM technology supports multiple accounts — and switching between them is super easy.

Are there any disadvantages to eSIM?

There could be a disadvantage for consumers in terms of choice. If a phone is sold exclusively, it's possible that all handsets could come pre-loaded with a particular network rather than being open to all. 

Also, people can't easily switch phones with eSIM unless they contact their network.

Which device you can use an eSIM?

You can use eSIM on many devices as long as the devices already supported eSIM. From cellphones to cellular routers, from CPE to RTU, as well as other M2M&IoT devices.

Compare to the traditional physical SIM card, eSIM is not as popular as SIM card, but I think it will be widely used in the future during the M2M&IoT world.

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