India’s eSIM Market Is Yet To Boom, Can Travelers Be The Answer?
India’s smartphone market has grown faster than people imagined but it seems to have come to a standstill in the last few years. However, the big news for the companies is that more people are happy to spend more on their new phones, which has resulted in higher average selling price of a phone in the country.
Even then, the adoption of eSIM on the high-end models like the iPhone and Google Pixels is relatively low, and there are various reasons for this trend. And now, it seems the travel ecosystem wants to take charge of helping millions of users to understand the tech behind eSIM and how convenient they can be for your devices.
Currently, around 10 percent of the devices sold in India support eSIM connectivity and most of them cost well above Rs 60,000. And popular brands like OnePlus and Xiaomi continue to offer dual physical SIM slots on their devices, primarily because of the stringent rules in China.
So how does India’s eSIM market grow when there is no support from the industry? That’s where you have companies like Commbitz, claiming India’s travel consumers can play a big part in helping others realise the comforts of using eSIM, both abroad and within the country. “ eSIM is not only just a QR code, it’s also a seamless connectivity for every traveler, so you don’t need to change the SIM card. People think it’s just a digital SIM and most of the people in India don’t even know what an eSIM is," Harsh Jayesh from the company explains the purpose of the technology which is very popular in the Western countries.
Disrupting The Norm
So what has stopped the eSIM revolution from becoming mainstream in India? “In India, I would say the lack of information by the main telecom operators. There is not much clarity and the operators are not even focusing on educating the users to move towards eSIM and how to use them," Harsh gives an on-ground reality check. He also mentions that adopting eSIM could disrupt the existing offline channel for these operators, who employ staff, train them and invest in the space as well.
It is interesting to see him talk about the lack of interest among the telcos in the country, which slightly contradicts what other experts have said to us previously. However, you cannot deny the efforts on ground are not receptive to such technology.
Look To The West
Having said that, Harsh says the operators are gearing up to build their systems to support the technology and make it accessible to more users. He feels that telcos need to simplify the process of getting an eSIM for a number, something that works flawlessly in the US.
“ The U.S. operators only send you a notification on your phone like you get a WhatsApp notification or any notification. Just click on that notification and your e -mail is configured," which tells you the scope of development required to make eSIM a success in India.
Harsh believes that educating the traveller base will go a long way in making more people understand the ease of using an eSIM which his company is heavily involved in making happen. “In India, the local consumer has to be educated about eSIM, which we are trying to do in regards to the travellers and telling them, okay, it’s very easy. You have it in your email and just like that the person now has affordable roaming when he travels."
These eSIM travel plans are said to be cheaper than what you get from traditional operators, which is also a good way to attract more people.
He ends our discussion on eSIM by stating that the government should incentivise these operators into adopting eSIM technology and yes, mobile brands to bring the feature to a more accessible price point which increases the volume of interest in using the SIM in digital form. Travel sure has a big role to play in the higher use of eSIM in India, and he is confident we will see the trends change in the next few years.