Forget about the outdated SIM card (photo: tomekwalecki, Pixabay)
After years of waiting, requests from customers (and yes, we dug too) and one big move by Apple, we can finally say that the eSIM is officially in Israel. This morning (Sunday) the first major cellular provider announced the activation of the option to connect to its services using a virtual SIM only, without the need to ship a SIM, pay for SIMs, search for annoying pins and mess with delicate drawers and delicate cards – you can join a cellular package with a few clicks.
First of all – what is an eSIM?
The eSIM is a nickname for Embedded Sim (and not Electronic Sim). It is an incredibly small electronic component that, as the name implies, is embedded in the body of the device itself. Without a SIM drawer or hiding it under the battery, and without user access to it. This is not a disadvantage, but rather an advantage. The user cannot access the SIM itself, as he does not need to physically touch it, just like the RAM component for that matter. The activation of such a SIM is usually done by scanning a simple QR code, and from there the connection is made by itself. And why is it good? With eSIM, the process of moving between companies becomes a process of a few minutes – instead of waiting for the SIM to arrive in the mail or at a collection point. In the last year, we saw how eSIM services like those of Airalo managed to shake up the Israeli cellular companies, because their customers could simply purchase surfing packages at a tenth of the cost, without even having to pick up a local SIM. In addition, some companies also do not charge a fee for connecting via eSIM.
So far, we’ve seen the eSIM arrive in smart watches like the Apple Watch in the cellular version, but these actually turned the watch into a companion to the physical SIM to which the original subscriber’s smartphone is connected, so you couldn’t yet abandon the ancient SIM and switch to a completely virtual process. In 2017, the move gained some momentum following the launch of the Apple Watch Series 3, but two years passed and after Gigtime’s disclosure, Pelephone became the first provider in Israel to support eSIM for the watch. But since then, 3 long years have passed and we haven’t heard from any cellular provider an update regarding eSIM support in a smartphone, when at the same time, devices like Samsung’s iPhone and Galaxy (along with many others) began to hit the market with support for the feature.
For now at no cost – but pay attention to one small thing
This morning (Sun), this situation changes, when the first cellular provider in Israel to make the blessed move is wecom, which you may know by its previous name, we4g. The company changed its branding recently, among other things, because of a previous significant move, in which it launched a cellular plan of 50 gigabytes per month in Israel and other countries around the world – for NIS 49.90 per month. Today, the old-new company officially launched its eSIM support, after revealing in August that it plans to support the standard. This is a particularly significant move in light of the fact that the company reports that it has over 300,000 subscribers, so it is not an anonymous virtual provider.
In a conversation with Gigtime, Asaf Ofer, the CEO of wecom, explains that in the first stage, connecting to the company’s services through esim will be done at no cost, and existing customers will also be able to switch to the new standard through the company’s website or by talking to a service representative. In the future, the company will charge a connection fee of up to NIS 10, with Ofer explaining that the company still has costs, as the process also entails costs on the company’s part. In response to Giktime’s question, it was stated that unlike your physical SIM, for which you are required to pay only once, if you need to transfer your eSIM between different devices, you will have to pay the connection cost each time, and Ofer explains that this is due to the fact that each time you are issued a new virtual SIM . That is, there is still an economic disadvantage compared to the traditional SIM that can be pulled out and transferred between devices according to your needs.
In addition to wecom, a company called SkyCall also offers cellular services via eSIM, with wecom riding on Cellcom’s infrastructure, and Sky on Partner’s network.
Let’s see how long it will take the big players to launch what they should have launched in 2019
Photo: Giktime
I couldn’t help but wonder how wecom was able to make the move that the other Israeli cellular providers are very happy to delay, because it benefits the consumer and not them. To this question, Ofer replied that, in his estimation, all cellular providers are ready for the launch because they have been providing eSIMs for watches for years (“you have to ask them why”), and according to him, wecom has worked on the solution for only six months: “It requires developing the ability to operate the SIMs as SIMs and to produce the Everything related to security. eSIM is digital, so there is a lower chance that the keys will be stolen, but you have to make sure that it is at least as secure as the plastic.’ Currently, wecom is indeed the only Israeli provider to support IS, but it does not currently support a cellular connection to smart watches, so it has a disadvantage compared to its competitors. However, within a few months, Ofer claims, the company will also launch support for watches.
The Israeli cellular providers do not necessarily have much time left to smear their customers without eSIM support, because Apple has already aimed a virtual gun at them: at its last event, Apple dropped a bombshell and announced that it was launching all iPhone 14 models without a SIM tray, and with support for -eSIM only. Meanwhile, this move is only being made in the United States, but there is no doubt that Apple has activated the timer, and when Apple sets a new trend – everyone aligns. Now, after a relatively new provider managed to put the old providers to shame, you will most likely hear in the coming weeks how Partner, Pelephone and Cellcom are suddenly launching the service they should have launched 3 years ago.