- Kigen and VALID are the specialists while Oasis Smart SIM, Truphone, Redtea Mobile, and WORKZ are the dark horses, moving rapidly to challenge the leaders.
- More than 260 MNOs/MVNOs now support eSIM and the average device support by carriers is more than 30 as well.
G+D, Thales and IDEMIA remained leaders in the Global eSIM Enablement landscape, according to the 2022 edition of Counterpoint Research’s eSIM CORE (COmpetitive, Ranking and Evaluation) report, maintaining their positions from the previous year.
Commenting on the eSIM landscape and the adoption of the technology, Senior Research Analyst Ankit Malhotra highlighted, “2022 was a landmark year for the eSIM ecosystem. eSIM’s adoption has accelerated all around the world and it is now rapidly moving towards becoming the preferred mode of connectivity. More than 260 MNOs/MVNOs now support eSIM and the average device support by carriers is more than 30 as well. Among newer devices, the launch of the eSIM-only iPhone 14 is rightly seen as a huge inflection point. Consumer interest in eSIM is at an all-time high, profile downloads have increased exponentially, and newer players are entering the market – all signs of an ecosystem on the rise. This momentum is being carried over to 2023 and we forecast another strong year with new devices, new technology and innovation, and more widespread adoption of eSIM.”
It has become even more important to better understand the positioning, capabilities, and completeness of various Global eSIM Enablement players. We have analyzed and evaluated key companies in the eSIM value chain using our proprietary CORE framework, which ranks active players according to their capabilities and success in the ecosystem. The evaluation spans a broad range of criteria such as eSIM OS firmware, certification, security, manufacturing, interoperability and ecosystem success. Our criteria continue to evolve every year and we have expanded them by adding new parameters, such as supply chain and customization capabilities.
Commenting on the research findings, Research Vice President Neil Shah said, “G+D continues to lead the Global Enablement CORE Scorecard when compared with the 2021 rankings. The German eSIM technology innovator continues to lead several evaluation criteria such as firmware, security and interoperability. Most importantly, G+D’s eSIM shipments power the highest number of leading consumer eSIM-capable devices, namely smartphones, smartwatches and tablets, including the eSIM-only iPhone 14.”
Shah added, “Thales is a close second in our rankings, also scoring well across most of the parameters. The French vendor has good traction in the automobile and IoT/M2M spaces, with some key design wins in the consumer space as well. These include eSIM Enablement wins across top smartphone OEMs like Samsung, OPPO and Google. G+D and Thales together dominate the eSIM Enablement space right from design wins to tech/standards contribution and end-to-end control over the eSIM value chain.”
“IDEMIA cemented its position as one of the Big Three players and a strong eSIM enabler with a robust portfolio and stable partnerships. IDEMIA has been offering its eSIM firmware since 2016, which has enabled more than 100 devices. The company led our rankings in firmware, security and interoperability, with strong traction in the mobility and IoT segments.”
“Kigen stood fourth in our rankings. It is one of the fastest-moving players in the eSIM Enablement landscape., especially in the IoT space, and striking strong partnerships across the value chain, the company has grown quickly as a specialist in the ecosystem. VALID, an incumbent in the market, leads the scoring in compliance, security and interoperability with a strong presence in the supply chain.”
Commenting on the fast-growing players, Malhotra said, “Oasis Smart SIM, Redtea Mobile, Truphone and WORKZ are the dark horses moving rapidly to challenge the incumbents with disruptive technologies, business models and partnerships. These players improved their capabilities and ecosystem presence in 2022. Oasis Smart SIM’s CloudSIM, which allows the device to connect anytime and anywhere on demand, is a key innovation to watch out for. Redtea Mobile has a strong end-to-end portfolio from firmware to its management platform to connectivity for expansion beyond Asia markets. WORKZ also enjoyed a great 2022 and is one of the key fast-growing players with a notable presence in the supply chain and IoT enablement space. Truphone has a strong positioning with a complete eSIM solution that includes eSIM enablement. It remains to be seen how broadly it can commercialize and leverage the vertical integration similar to Redtea Mobile.”
