A few years ago, eSIM was something you might encounter while setting up a new phone. Today it can be the reason a traveler skips an airport SIM kiosk, the way a company connects equipment overseas, or even a communications option offered to an AI agent.

Different situations, same change: mobile connectivity is becoming something software can arrange, rather than something a person physically installs.

Awareness Is Not the Same as Adoption

Two figures attributed to GSMA Intelligence capture the change in consumer familiarity: eSIM awareness rose from 25% in 2021 to 60% in 2025.

That is a substantial shift in recognition, not proof that six in ten people are using an eSIM.

GSMA reported that eSIM accounted for only 5% of global smartphone connections at the end of 2025. Its consumer research also indicates that only 8% of eSIM-aware respondents learned about the technology through their mobile operator’s commercial promotion.

People can know eSIM exists and still have no compelling reason to change their everyday mobile plan.

Travel Gives People a Reason to Try

Travel makes that decision more immediate. Land in another country, open a maps app, and discover that your roaming allowance is inadequate. Suddenly, downloading a data plan feels less like a technical upgrade and more like solving a practical problem.

The second graphic highlights a 54% figure alongside the role of travel eSIM in consumer interest.

A clarification: GSMA’s underlying consumer research describes 54% of people who do not currently use eSIM as interested in using it on a smartphone in the future. That is broader than saying 54% became interested specifically because of travel.

Travel is nevertheless a tangible entry point.

In GSMA’s 2024 consumer survey across 11 countries, 51% of eSIM users said they had used eSIM while traveling abroad for leisure or personal reasons during the previous year. That describes existing eSIM users, not all travelers.

READ MORE: From Travel Hack to Telecom Standard: GSMA’s Findings on eSIM 

Providers such as Airalo and Holafly made the buying experience more visible, while operators have begun treating travel eSIM as a product in its own right.

A dedicated travel plan may make data convenient but might not replace the calls, SMS or verification messages tied to a home number. For some trips, an operator’s roaming package or a local prepaid line remains simpler. 

The Phone Is Changing, Too

For many customers, adoption will happen without a deliberate eSIM shopping decision.

Apple expanded eSIM-only iPhone models beyond the US, Google removed the physical SIM tray from several US Pixel 10 models, and Chinese operators began smartphone eSIM trials in 2025. Device design and network availability are pushing the technology into routine phone setup.

But removing the SIM tray does not remove friction.

READ MORE: Voice and SMS on eSIM: The Return of the Local Number

Transferring a number, activating a prepaid plan, or recovering service after a lost phone still depends on the operator’s processes.

A good eSIM experience should feel like setting up an app, not like persuading three customer-service systems to recognize the same account.

From Individual Phones to Fleets

On the enterprise side, the advantage is less about avoiding a shop and more about avoiding a technician.

Consider a company shipping connected equipment into several markets. It needs to provision connectivity, manage subscriptions, and sometimes change network profiles after deployment. Opening every device to replace a SIM is expensive.

The GSMA’s SGP.32 framework addresses remote provisioning for IoT devices, including devices with limited interfaces.

READ MORE: SGP.32 Explained: IoT eSIM Fleet Operations in 2026 

In July 2026, Bridge Alliance and Thales announced a multi-operator enterprise eSIM network for IoT across Asia-Pacific, following tests with operators in Thailand, the Philippines, Australia and Singapore.

The technology becomes part of fleet management and operational continuity.

It also raises tougher questions about coverage, interoperability, profile ownership and what happens when a provider fails. An eSIM alone does not guarantee a usable backup network.

Now Bird Wants AI Agents Connected

The latest, unexpected example comes from Bird.com.

On September 23, 2026, the communications company announced $450 million in debt financing and a revamped Agentic Harness. It says AI agents can use its infrastructure to send messages, make calls, manage email, and obtain an eSIM phone plan, without developers building a separate integration for each task.

The financing is a $400 million term loan and a $50 million revolving credit facility intended to provide shareholder liquidity. It is not a $450 million investment earmarked for eSIM.

An AI agent getting an eSIM plan should not be confused with evidence that autonomous software is already using mobile subscriptions at scale.

READ MORE: Lightyear Launches AI Agents for Enterprise Telecom 

Bird has announced a capability, not disclosed a verified adoption figure for it.

The proposition is that telecom services may become resources requested and managed inside automated workflows, alongside messaging and email.

That brings real questions.

Who authorizes an agent to acquire a number? Who pays for its usage? What prevents unsolicited calls or messages?

Programmability is useful only when identity, consent, and spending controls travel with it.

Final thoughts about travel eSIM growth

The emerging eSIM market is not one market moving at one speed.

Travel brands such as Airalo and Holafly sell an immediate solution to a traveler. Mobile operators must make activation and number continuity work for everyday customers. Enterprise platforms such as the Bridge Alliance–Thales initiative need dependable remote management across fleets. Bird is testing whether connectivity can also be packaged for software agents.

Twilio, meanwhile, is developing its own AI-agent communications infrastructure across voice and messaging, so Bird is entering an active field rather than inventing agent communication from scratch. Its eSIM angle extends the discussion from sending a message to provisioning telecom service itself.

The next meaningful measure of progress will not be another awareness percentage.

It will be how often a customer, a business, or a software workflow can activate the right connection, change it when circumstances change, and trust it to work.

That is when eSIM stops being the product people notice and becomes the infrastructure they expect.