The mobile communications card "eSIM" is on the rise. The "e" stands for "embedded" - i.e., permanently installed in smartphones, tablets, cars and the like. This makes it easier for customers to switch from one device to another.
If you have a new cell phone, you sometimes have to use paper clips to get the SIM card out of the old device and into the new one. After all, you can't do without this chip. It carries the personal phone number, establishes the connection to the mobile network and is virtually the customer's individual ticket in it.
But these cumbersome procedures are slowly becoming less common thanks to a practical successor: the eSIM. The "e" stands for "embedded." It means "permanently installed" or "embedded" in the device, in tablets and smartphones as well as in fitness watches and cars. This chip is smaller than a one cent coin and particularly durable. It can be overwritten with new contract data at any time. Like the SIM card, the eSIM contains all the information about the customer's rate plan. Since 2019, the number of eSIM-enabled devices in the Deutsche Telekom network has been steadily increasing.
Customers with eSIM devices can activate the booked rate flexibly and quickly: ad hoc and whenever necessary. The eSIM comes to the customer wherever they are - even on vacation, for example. It will be just as easy to pass on devices in good condition, for example within families.
How the profile is transferred to the integrated chip
How does a new activation or a switch from one device with eSIM to another work? In addition to the "classic" activation code procedure, Telekom offers activation via "eSIM direct". With eSIM direct, the activation of the eSIM profile on the end device is triggered by the network operator. The customer only has to confirm with "OK" on his or her device. The eSIM profile is transferred to the device immediately after the order is completed. It can be used immediately. The eSIM profile contains all the information needed to surf and make calls on Deutsche Telekom's mobile network. All this is much more convenient for customers. And it also makes it easier to connect devices without a display in the IoT (Internet of Things), such as trackers.
However, it will be some time before the eSIM completely replaces the classic SIM card, according to Deutsche Telekom experts. Manufacturers are currently focusing more on DualSIM devices in the new generation of smartphones and tablets. These work with both conventional plastic SIM cards and eSIMs.