IoT connections on eSIM are expected to grow at a rapid pace of 43% annually to reach 2.2 billion by 2030, according to a recent report released by Counterpoint Research on the IoT connectivity landscape. By 2030, almost a third of the IoT connections will be on eSIM or iSIM.

Commenting on the current state of IoT eSlM connections, Associate Director Mohit Agrawal said, “eSIM growth in IoT has lagged behind that in consumer space due to the restrictive M2M eSIM specifications. As a result, at the end of 2023, there were a little less than 200 million eSlM connections in the IoT space, despite the excellent product-market fit.”

Agrawal added, “China, the world’s largest IoT market, has low single-digit eSIM penetration due to restrictive regulations around eSIM in the past and the high proportion of LPWA devices that currently do not support eSIM. The eSIM penetration in the rest of the world is much higher than in China, but the large loT base in China brings the overall global eSlM penetration to less than 10%.”

Commenting on the eSlM forecast, Senior Research Analyst Ankit Malhotra said, “The new GSMA standards for IoT eSlM (SGD.31/32) are expected to bring the eSIM to constrained devices, which is likely to massively push the growth in eSlM and later iSIM. eSlM vendors and IoT connectivity providers have multiple proofs of concept on the new loT eSIM standards, and the big push is likely to happen next year after the test specifications are released by GSMA later this year. The early adopters of eSlM in IoT have been mostly automotive customers, as enterprises have not really been able to change the connectivity provider at will”

eSIMs offer many advantages for IoT applications, including:

• Reduced costs: eSIMs are cheaper to manufacture and deploy than traditional SIM cards.
• Greater flexibility: eSIMs allow you to change cellular plans or carriers remotely, without having to physically access the device.
• Improved security: eSIMs are more secure than traditional SIM cards, as they are not easily removed or replaced.
• Extended lifespans: eSIMs can be updated over-the-air, so they do not need to be replaced as often as traditional SIM cards.

Some of the most common use cases for eSIMs in IoT include:

• Connected cars: eSIMs are used to connect cars to cellular networks, enabling features such as real-time traffic updates, remote diagnostics, and emergency services.
• Wearables: eSIMs are used to connect wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers to cellular networks, enabling features such as cellular calling, text messaging, and data access.
• Industrial IoT: eSIMs are used to connect industrial IoT devices such as sensors and actuators to cellular networks, enabling features such as remote monitoring and control.

As the IoT market continues to grow, eSIMs are expected to play an increasingly important role. Their advantages in terms of cost, flexibility, security, and lifespan make them an ideal solution for connecting IoT devices to cellular networks.

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