Pricing eSIM Services: Ecosystem, Challenges, and Opportunities

The adoption of embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) is accelerating rapidly and is anticipated to prevail over conventional physical SIM cards in the next few years. With several phone vendors switching to eSIMs and eSIM-only devices being launched in the market, a new ecosystem for offering and pricing cellular services will be created. The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), expanding 5G roll-out, and upcoming enhancements available with beyond 5G (B5G) networks will further add to the complexity of this ecosystem. In this article, we outline the disruptive effects of eSIM on pricing and business models and discuss several challenges and opportunities that will arise with its adoption. In particular, the possibility of seamless switching between providers will result in higher competition and increased churn, giving rise to interesting pricing strategies. We describe one such strategy, personalized pricing, and illustrate its advantages over traditional approaches.