The global adoption of eSIM technology continues to rise rapidly, with exclusive market monitoring figures from Trusted Connectivity Alliance (TCA) revealing that consumer eSIM profile downloads more than doubled in 2023, showing an increase of 109% compared to the previous year.
According to the newly released figures, growth was primarily driven by an accelerated adoption in the North American market. The high availability and consumer demand for eSIM-only smartphone models have led to leading mobile operators switching to 'digital-first' strategies. Moreover, adoption rates also surged across Asia and Western Europe.
The future growth in consumer eSIM adoption is anticipated to surge with the rollout of eSIM-only smartphones across additional regions and increased availability of eSIM-enabled devices. Furthermore, rebounding levels of international travel set to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2024, are likely to support this growth as travellers increasingly turn to eSIM for greater convenience and more options while roaming.
The ongoing significant investment in eSIM Subscription Manager (SM) platforms, which facilitate the remote provisioning and lifecycle management of eSIMs, backed the increasing adoption rate. The number of deployed consumer eSIM SM platforms saw a surge by 25% in 2023 as mobile operators continued to strengthen their digital capabilities.
"For technologies to be widely adopted, they must be safe and reliable, provide a great experience and, most importantly, deliver real value," stated Bertrand Moussel, Chair of the TCA Board.
"Our latest data makes it clear that wider eSIM availability is translating into strong adoption, with consumers across the world now realising the benefits of flexible and seamless connectivity," he said.
In other key industry trends in 2023, M2M eSIM adoption, which primarily focused on automotive cases, was backed by a 12% increase in the deployment of M2M eSIM SM platforms. Additionally, the global standardisation efforts such as GSMA's eSIM for Internet of Things Specifications are set to play a crucial role in promoting increased eSIM adoption across IoT verticals.
In contrast to the growth in the eSIM market, the 'traditional' SIM market experienced a downtrend shaped by broader macro-economic factors, reducing by 7% to 3.8 billion units in 2023. "As the evolution of the SIM ecosystem gathers pace, TCA is committed to bringing together stakeholders to address emerging opportunities and challenges. By collaborating on initiatives that increase interoperability, promote trust and support sustainable innovation across the secure connectivity ecosystem, the full promise of the global digital economy can be realised," added Moussel.
