Airtel eSIM: What Is eSIM and How does It Work? (Guide)

Airtel Kenya has launched eSIM, which will allow users to access communication services without having to buy a sim card.

eSIM is a digital SIM card that enables customers to access the same services as those with physical SIMs.

The telco first rolled out eSIM in Nigeria before Kenya. It plans to roll out the product in 14 African countries later.

“With the introduction of eSIM in Kenya, the Airtel community continues to stay ahead of the curve where innovation is concerned by giving customers much convenience and flexibility while championing technological advancement,” Airtel Africa CEO, Segun Ogunsanya said during the launch.

Being simple to use and secure, the technology has been adopted by brands such as Apple, Samsung, among others.

One of its biggest advantages is that it removes the need for a user to possess more than one phone to access services.

“The customers’ expectations are changing. We are confident that our customers will quickly move to our eSIM convenience for what it delivers,” Airtel Kenya managing director Ashish Malhotra said.

“Mobile users reward digital therefore as a business we shall continue enabling digital transformation to deliver the full customer experience.”

What is eSIM?

The new cellular innovation called eSIM is set to change how we experience and use multiple SIMs on our smartphones.

The eSIM stands for electronic Subscriber Identity Module and aims to be the virtual equivalent of the physical SIM card.

You can activate and subscribe to cellular services from more than one mobile operator without having to insert a new physical SIM in your particular device.

A typical eSIM comes embedded on the motherboard or the circuit board of a phone or a smart device and it is a fraction size of a nano SIM.

That takes care of the biggest concern of the consumers – buying a dual SIM 4G smartphone and new SIM cards. That means you can enjoy the dual or multi-SIM experience on a smartphone and also change as well as manage them easily.

Don’t we all desire flagships that are powerful smartphones and offer protection against water and dust? So replacing the SIM card trays with eSIM is an excellent start.

In the future, the smartphones, tablets, computers, and other smart devices could use an eSIM to let you enjoy mobile and data services from multiple cellular providers easily.

How does it work?

An eSIM which is short for an Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card comes with a Machine to Machine (M2M) installation and Remote Provisioning capabilities.

In simpler terms, a manufacturer of smartphones or smart devices will solder it directly to the motherboard of the said device.

With the remote provisioning facilities, the process of activating and managing the eSIM compatible devices becomes convenient. So you don’t even have to visit a mobile operator’s store.

Let’s say you want to use a second 4G LTE connection on a 2018 iPhone since you don’t want to carry around another phone. All you have to do is get the subscription from the eSIM supporting mobile operator such as Airtel.

The mobile operator will share a QR code or other details that includes activation code along with SM-DP+(Subscription Manager Data Preparation) server address and confirmation code