For some time now, people’s enthusiasm about eSIMs seems to be waning. In many parts of the world, people are hesitant to switch from physical SIM cards to eSIM. Despite the many benefits of eSIMs, it is becoming increasingly difficult to convince people to adopt them. Recent data from South Korea has drawn everyone’s attention to this truth. The adoption rate of eSIMs there is quite low; Even in the US—where the situation is a little better—people often buy these SIMs out of necessity, not out of choice, but due to device limitations. Let’s see what the latest data on eSIMs tells.
South Korea’s data is shocking
According to a report, currently only 5 percent of mobile users in South Korea are using eSIMs. There are approximately 57 million phone users in this country, yet only 3 million of them are using eSIMs. This figure is actually inflated, due to a network scam; Due to this scam many users gave up their physical SIM cards and switched to eSIMs. Last year, the number was just 3 percent. According to the report, the reason for this situation is lack of awareness among the people. The government is also worried about this trend and is now preparing to take steps to correct it.
The story is different in the US—but for a different reason
The story is quite different with eSIM usage in the US; About 38 percent of mobile users there are currently using eSIMs. However, the reason behind its adoption is different. In fact, many smartphone models sold in the US only support eSIM; As a result, customers are left with no option of purchasing a physical SIM card and are forced to use eSIM. As far as the UK is concerned, about 40 percent of the population there say that they have never even heard of eSIM, while 41 percent of the people admit that they are not sure whether their phone supports this technology or not.
Big expectations from eSIMs
In 2024, a GSMA report predicted that by 2028, approximately 50 percent of all new mobile connections would be provided via eSIMs, and that figure would increase to 88 percent by 2030. However, looking at the latest data, it seems that these projections are very unlikely to come true until 2028.
