The travel eSIM market is becoming crowded with companies competing on destination count, gigabytes and price.

Numero eSIM is built around a different assumption: that the customer relationship should not end when the trip does.

That distinction becomes much clearer when you look at the business behind the travel product. Ibrahim Rayyan says around 65% of Numero’s revenue now comes from subscription-based services rather than travel data alone. Customers may arrive looking for connectivity, but many stay for something more persistent — virtual numbers, calls, SMS and other communication services that can remain useful for months or even years.

It helps explain why Numero is difficult to place neatly inside the travel eSIM category.

The company did not begin with travel data. Its roots are in virtual numbers and international communication, with eSIM connectivity added later as telecom itself became increasingly digital. Today, Rayyan describes Numero less as a travel eSIM provider and more as an emerging global communications platform: one account connecting different telecom services across countries.

That thinking is also behind Numero Global Mobile, the company’s next step toward bringing connectivity, numbers and communication services together around a single account and wallet.

The bigger story, then, is not another provider promising coverage in 200 countries.

It is what happens when the eSIM becomes only one component of a much longer customer relationship.

In our conversation with Ibrahim Rayyan, we explore why travel data is becoming increasingly commoditised, what creates retention in digital telecom, why a phone number can be more valuable than a data package, where mobile operators still hold the advantage, and whether the future of global connectivity belongs less to the SIM itself — and more to the account that sits above it.

 

 

So, what is Numero really building? Let’s find out.

1. The eSIM industry still talks obsessively about the SIM. But Numero seems to be building around something bigger: the customer account. Do you think the SIM itself is becoming the least important part of mobile connectivity?

I wouldn’t say the SIM is becoming irrelevant. In fact, the move from the physical SIM to the eSIM has made it much more useful, especially for travellers. It removed a lot of friction by allowing people to buy and activate connectivity digitally without having to find a local SIM card or physically replace anything.

But at the same time, that digitalisation has changed the role of the SIM. It has made it much easier to switch. A traveller may use one eSIM for a country today and another one for a different country a few weeks later. People can store multiple eSIMs on the same device and move between them quite easily. So the SIM is still important technically, but it is becoming less central to the long-term relationship with the customer.

And I think this reflects a broader change in consumer expectations. People are becoming used to services following them wherever they go. Your Netflix account travels with you. Your bank account remains accessible when you cross a border. Your digital services are increasingly connected to you as a person, rather than to one location or one physical object.

Telecom is starting to move in the same direction.

That is how we think about Numero. The eSIM is an important connectivity layer, but it is only one part of the relationship. The customer account can remain with the user across trips, countries and devices, bringing together connectivity, virtual numbers, calls, SMS and other communication services.

So I see the long-term shift as moving from a SIM-centred telecom relationship toward a customer-centred one. The SIM or eSIM remains important, but increasingly it becomes one of the tools that enables the relationship rather than the thing that defines it.

2. Most travel eSIM companies solve one very specific moment: “I’m going abroad and I need data.” Numero combines data, phone numbers, calls, SMS and recurring services. Was the ambition from the beginning to build something people would use between trips as well as during them?

Actually, Numero did not start as a travel eSIM business. Our first services were virtual phone numbers, calling and other communication services. eSIM connectivity came later as the SIM became digital and we saw how naturally it could fit into the broader platform we were already building.

So from the beginning, the idea was much broader than solving the moment when someone travels and needs data. We wanted to serve people whose communication needs cross borders — whether they are travelling, living abroad, working internationally, or staying connected with people and businesses in different countries.

We do not want to have to reacquire the same customer every time they travel; we want the account to remain useful between trips as well.

That is still reflected very clearly in our business today. Around 65% of our revenue comes from subscription-based services rather than travel data alone. Some customers may use an eSIM for a few days during a trip, while others keep a virtual number or another communication service for months or even years.

For years, we have allowed customers to access numbers, calls, SMS and connectivity through the same Numero account, either separately or in combination. That creates a very different relationship from the typical travel-eSIM model. We do not want to have to reacquire the same customer every time they travel; we want the account to remain useful between trips as well.

And we are now taking that concept one step further by bringing these services together in an even more integrated way. But fundamentally, the idea has always been the same: the customer relationship should continue beyond a single trip or a single data package.

3. You’ve said before that Numero was designed as an ongoing global connectivity tool rather than a one-off travel purchase. Why do you think so much of the eSIM industry still struggles to create a relationship with the customer after the traveller comes home?

I think the main reason is that most travel eSIM products were designed around a very specific event: the customer is travelling and needs data for a limited period of time.

That is very different from traditional telecom. When someone gets a mobile number or an account from a local operator, they may stay with that provider for years because the need itself is recurring. They need connectivity and communication every day, so the relationship naturally becomes long-term.

What we are trying to do at Numero is bring some of that same logic to a different type of customer — what we call global citizens: people whose communication needs regularly cross borders. It is certainly not everyone, but there is a significant group of people who need international connectivity, calls, SMS, virtual numbers — sometimes numbers from several countries — on an ongoing basis, in much the same way that another customer needs a local mobile account at home.

The challenge for many travel eSIM providers is that once the traveller comes home, the original need disappears. The customer goes back to their normal operator, and unless the eSIM provider gives them another reason to stay, the relationship effectively pauses until the next trip.

That becomes even more difficult as travel data gets increasingly commoditised. If the relationship is mainly about gigabytes, destination coverage and price, then when the customer travels again, it is very easy to compare offers and choose another provider.

Our thinking is different. Travel connectivity may be the reason someone first discovers Numero, but ideally it should not be the only reason they keep the account. If we can continue solving their cross-border communication needs between trips as well as during them, then the relationship becomes much closer to an ongoing telecom relationship rather than a one-off travel purchase.

4. If you remove the word “eSIM” from Numero for a moment, what is the company actually becoming: a digital mobile operator, a communications platform, a global telecom account, or something else entirely?

I actually wouldn’t completely remove the word “eSIM” from Numero, because it has been part of our thinking from the very beginning.

When we started Numero, our initial services were virtual numbers and calling, not travel data. But we deliberately chose the name Numero eSIM because, even at that time, we believed the SIM itself was going to become digital. eSIM was still used mainly in IoT and only a limited number of consumer devices supported it, but we saw it as an important piece of infrastructure on top of which many telecom services could eventually become digital.

So for us, eSIM was never meant to mean simply “travel data.” It represented the digitalisation of telecom.

Today, I think the closest description of what Numero is becoming is a global telecom account or global communications platform.

I would be careful about calling us a digital mobile operator because we do not own spectrum or physical mobile networks in the traditional sense. We integrate with operators and telecom providers around the world and bring those capabilities together for the customer.

“Downloads are important for reach; retention is what tells you whether you are actually building a sustainable telecom business.”

From the customer’s perspective, the idea is much simpler: one relationship with Numero through which they can access data connectivity, phone numbers, calls, SMS and other communication services across different countries.

That is also the thinking behind Numero Global Mobile, which is the next evolution of what we have already been building for years. We are bringing these services together more clearly around one account and one wallet, where customers can use them separately or combine them according to what they need.

We are not trying to replace everyone’s local mobile operator. We want to become the telecom account people use for their global communication needs.

So I would say Numero eSIM is evolving into a global mobile communications platform. The eSIM remains an important part of that story — just not the whole story.

5. There is a big difference between selling someone 10GB for a holiday and becoming the place where they keep a phone number for years. Does the second model fundamentally change the economics of the business?

Yes, fundamentally.

If you sell someone 10GB for a holiday, the economics are largely transactional. You acquire the customer, they buy the package, use it for a week or two, and then the relationship may stop. The next time they travel, you may need to win that customer all over again.

A phone number is very different. If someone starts using that number for business, family, accounts or everyday communication, the relationship can last for months or years. That creates recurring revenue, a longer customer lifetime and, potentially, much better economics around customer acquisition.

“The phone number can be a very powerful anchor, but what really matters is whether the whole platform continues to solve communication problems for the customer over time.”

You can already see that in our own business. Around 65% of Numero’s revenue today comes from subscription-based services rather than travel data alone. That tells us that customers are willing to maintain an ongoing relationship when the service continues to solve a real communication need.

But there is another side to it. A long-term telecom relationship also carries much greater responsibility. If someone depends on a number for years, reliability, support, continuity and compliance become far more important than in a simple one-off data transaction.

So yes, the economics can become more attractive, but the relationship also becomes deeper. You are no longer just selling connectivity for a trip; you are becoming part of the customer’s communication infrastructure.

6. Virtual numbers are one of the most interesting parts of Numero because they give customers a reason to return even when they are not travelling. What have you learned about what actually creates retention in digital telecom—data, identity, the phone number, convenience, or something else?

What we have learned is that retention usually does not come from one feature alone. It comes from becoming useful enough that the customer has a reason not to leave.

Data is important, but by itself it is often transactional. A customer may need it for a trip, use it, and then move on. A phone number is different because it can become part of the customer’s identity and daily communication. Once someone starts using a number for business, family, online accounts or regular contact, the relationship naturally becomes more persistent.

But even the number alone is not enough. Convenience matters a lot. If the customer can manage their number, connectivity, calls and other services from the same account, without having to use several different providers, that creates additional value and makes the relationship stronger.

So I would say the strongest retention comes from a combination of three things: ongoing utility, identity and convenience.

The phone number can be a very powerful anchor, but what really matters is whether the whole platform continues to solve communication problems for the customer over time. If it does, then retention becomes a natural outcome rather than something you have to manufacture through promotions or discounts.

7. Traditional operators own networks, spectrum and decades of customer relationships. Digital connectivity brands often own the simpler user experience. Which side has the stronger strategic advantage over the next five years?

I don’t think the next five years will be about one side defeating the other.

Traditional operators have enormous strategic strengths: networks, spectrum, regulatory experience, local market knowledge and long-standing customer relationships. Those are not easy assets to replicate.

Digital connectivity companies, on the other hand, are often much better at simplifying the customer experience. They can move faster, serve users across multiple countries through one digital interface and design the service around the customer rather than around the limitations of one local network.

So I think the strongest model will increasingly be a combination of both.

“You are no longer just selling connectivity for a trip; you are becoming part of the customer’s communication infrastructure.”

The infrastructure may continue to come largely from established operators, while the customer experience, aggregation and global service layer can increasingly be provided by digital platforms.

That is very much how we see Numero. We are not trying to compete with operators by building networks or acquiring spectrum. We want to connect different telecom capabilities from different markets and make them accessible to the customer through one simple global experience.

In that sense, I think the real strategic advantage will belong to whoever can combine the reliability and scale of traditional telecom with the flexibility, simplicity and global reach that customers now expect from digital services.

8. Numero says it has reached more than 30 million users. What exactly sits behind that number—and which metric matters more to you internally today: downloads, paying customers, repeat customers, active users or customer lifetime value?

The 30 million figure refers primarily to app downloads, so I think it is important to be precise about that. It shows the scale of the audience we have been able to reach globally, but downloads alone are not the metric we use to judge the health of the business.

Internally, we look much more closely at active customers, paying customers, repeat behaviour and, increasingly, customer lifetime value.

A download tells you that someone was interested enough to try the product. A first purchase tells you that you solved an immediate need. But when someone comes back for a second, fifth or twentieth transaction, or keeps a subscription active for a long period, that tells you that you have created a real customer relationship.

That is particularly important for Numero because our ambition is not simply to maximise one-off travel transactions. We want the account to remain useful over time.

So if I had to choose the metrics that matter most to me today, I would probably put repeat customers and customer lifetime value ahead of raw download numbers. Downloads are important for reach; retention is what tells you whether you are actually building a sustainable telecom business.

9. I’m particularly interested in repeat behaviour. What does a successful Numero customer journey actually look like after the first purchase? What tends to make someone come back for the second, fifth or twentieth transaction?

There isn’t just one successful customer journey, because people often discover Numero for very different reasons.

One customer may come because they are travelling and need an eSIM. If the experience is good, they may return on their next trip, then gradually start using another service such as international calling or a virtual number.

Another customer may start with a virtual number for a specific country and keep that number for months or years. Over time, they may add another number, use calling or SMS, or buy connectivity when they travel.

For us, the most interesting behaviour is when the relationship starts expanding beyond the customer’s original reason for coming to Numero.

Data may bring the customer in, but if data is the only thing you offer, it becomes very difficult to stay differentiated for long.

The second transaction usually tells you that the first experience worked. By the fifth or twentieth transaction, something different has happened: the customer has started to treat Numero as one of the tools they rely on for international communication.

What brings them back is usually a combination of trust, convenience and continued relevance. They already know the account, they have their balance and services there, they know how the platform works, and when another communication need appears, they do not have to start searching from zero again.

That is ultimately the journey we want to create: not just repeat purchases of the same product, but a customer relationship that becomes broader and more useful over time.

10. There are now hundreds of companies selling travel eSIMs, and data itself is becoming increasingly commoditised. When everyone can offer “200+ countries” and competitive gigabyte prices, where do you believe sustainable differentiation comes from?

I think coverage and price are becoming less useful as long-term differentiators.

If hundreds of companies can offer similar destination lists and increasingly similar data prices, then the customer will eventually see those things as expected rather than distinctive.

Sustainable differentiation has to come from the relationship around the connectivity.

For us, that means asking what else the customer needs before, during and after the trip. Can they keep a number? Can they make calls? Can they receive SMS? Can they manage different communication needs from one account? Can the platform remain useful when the data package ends?

I also think trust becomes increasingly important as the market matures. Customers will care about reliability, transparency, support and whether the service actually works when they need it, not just whether the advertised price per gigabyte is attractive.

So I believe the strongest differentiation will come from a combination of broader utility, customer experience, trust and the ability to build an ongoing relationship.

Data may bring the customer in, but if data is the only thing you offer, it becomes very difficult to stay differentiated for long.

11. A phone number is no longer just a way to receive a call. It can be part of someone’s WhatsApp identity, banking access, business presence and online accounts. Does that make the responsibility of providing virtual numbers much greater than it was a few years ago?

Yes, definitely.

A phone number has become much more than a way to make or receive calls. For many people, it can be part of their business identity, their messaging accounts, their online services and, in some cases, the way other platforms recognise or contact them.

That means the responsibility of providing a number is much greater than simply making sure calls or SMS technically work.

Customers may keep a number for a long time and build part of their digital life around it, so continuity, reliability and transparency become extremely important. They need to understand what the number can be used for, how long they can keep it and what happens if the service is interrupted or not renewed.

There is also a growing compliance responsibility. Some countries and some number types require full KYC before a number can be activated. Depending on the market, the customer may need to provide identification, an address or other documents required by the underlying operator or number provider.

“The phone number can be a very powerful anchor, but what really matters is whether the whole platform continues to solve communication problems for the customer over time.”

We have built that process directly into Numero and integrated it with our providers so that, where KYC is required, the customer can complete it through the app rather than dealing with a separate manual process. Our support team can then handle the required verification and follow-up as efficiently as possible.

So there is a balance: the customer should experience global telecom as something simple and digital, while behind that simplicity we still have to respect the regulatory and compliance requirements of each market.

At the same time, we have to be careful because not every virtual number is accepted by every third-party platform, bank or verification service. Those decisions are controlled by the external platforms, not by the number provider, so setting the right expectations is also part of the responsibility.

Once a number becomes part of someone’s identity or business activity, you are no longer providing a disposable feature. You are providing something the customer may depend on, and that naturally raises the level of responsibility.

12. That also creates difficult questions around recycled numbers, verification, fraud prevention and service reliability. How do you balance making global numbers easy to obtain with the trust and compliance requirements that increasingly come with digital identity?

The balance is to make the customer experience as simple as possible without simplifying the responsibilities behind the service.

Global numbers come with different regulatory requirements depending on the country, the type of number and the underlying operator or provider. In some markets, a customer may be able to activate a number almost instantly. In others, full KYC may be required, including identification, address information or additional documentation.

Our job is to build those requirements into the product in a way that creates as little friction as possible for the customer. We have integrated KYC processes directly into the Numero experience and into the workflows with our providers, so where verification is required, the user can complete it through the app and our team can manage the process efficiently.

Fraud prevention is another important part of the equation. The easier telecom services become to access digitally, the more important it becomes to have proper verification, monitoring and controls in place and to work closely with the operators and providers supplying the numbers.

Number lifecycle is also important. Numbers can be recycled by telecom operators, and availability and retention conditions can differ from one market to another. So transparency with the customer is essential. We should be very clear about the conditions under which a number is provided, renewed and maintained, rather than creating expectations that the underlying telecom infrastructure cannot guarantee.

Support is no longer just a function around the product. It becomes an important part of the product itself.

And even when you do all of this correctly, unexpected issues can still happen because we do not control every layer of the telecom chain. A number may have been recycled by an operator, or a number supplied as new may have some previous usage history that was not visible to us. This is where customer support becomes extremely important. When a customer depends on that number, the issue has to be investigated and resolved as quickly as possible, whether that means working with the provider, replacing the number or finding another solution.

There is also an interesting strategic side to this complexity. Virtual numbers may look like a simple digital product from the outside, but operating them reliably across many countries requires provider relationships, regulatory knowledge, KYC processes, fraud controls, support capabilities and ongoing operational work. That complexity creates a real barrier to entry and is one reason why it is much harder to build this part of digital telecom well than simply adding another travel data package.

Ultimately, I think good digital telecom should hide complexity, not responsibility. The customer should experience something simple, fast and global, while behind that experience there has to be a serious layer of compliance, verification, fraud prevention, customer support and operational control.

13. Customer expectations also change when a service becomes persistent. Losing connectivity for an afternoon on holiday is frustrating; losing access to a business number can be serious. How has Numero had to evolve its support and infrastructure as customers started relying on the service for more than occasional travel?

It changes the level of responsibility significantly. If someone has been using the same number for months or years for business, family or important accounts, losing access can be much more serious than a temporary data interruption during a trip.

That is why, for some time now, we have operated 24/7 customer support, with teams working around the clock. We also maintain escalation channels with our telecom providers so that issues affecting important services can be investigated and resolved as quickly as possible.

The next step is to integrate AI more deeply into our support operation. We see AI helping us respond faster, improve accuracy, identify recurring problems and give our support teams better tools to resolve issues efficiently. We expect to expand this significantly in the near future.

As customers rely more on Numero for persistent communication services, support is no longer just a function around the product. It becomes an important part of the product itself.

14. Let’s jump five years ahead. If you are right about where connectivity is going, what disappears first: roaming as consumers understand it today, the traditional mobile plan, the relationship between one number and one operator—or the idea that we even need to think about connectivity at all?

I think the first thing to disappear will be roaming as consumers understand it today.

I don’t mean that the underlying roaming agreements between operators will disappear. Those will probably remain part of the infrastructure for a long time. What should disappear is the customer having to think about roaming at all: which network they are connected to, what roaming package they need, or what it will cost them when they cross a border.

Connectivity should increasingly become something that follows the user automatically.

Over time, I also think the relationship between one number, one SIM and one operator will become much weaker. People may keep numbers longer than they keep networks, use connectivity from different operators in different countries and manage all of that through one digital account.

The traditional mobile plan will probably evolve rather than disappear completely, especially for people whose lives remain mainly within one country. But for global citizens, I think the experience will become much more flexible.

The ultimate goal is that connectivity becomes almost invisible.

Just as we don’t think very much about which infrastructure is allowing us to access our email, banking or other digital services when we travel, eventually we should not need to think so much about how our telecom services follow us either.

That is the future we are trying to build toward with Numero: not asking the customer to understand the complexity of global telecom, but making that complexity disappear behind one simple relationship.

Final thoughts

Numero’s story matters because it points to a broader shift in digital telecom.

Travel eSIMs have made connectivity easier to buy, easier to activate and easier to switch. But that same convenience also makes the relationship more fragile. If the product is only data, the customer can compare prices, buy a different package and move on just as easily.

Numero is betting that the stronger relationship sits somewhere else.

A phone number can stay with a customer for years. A communication account can remain useful between trips. Calls, SMS, virtual numbers and connectivity can all become part of the same digital relationship. And with around 65% of Numero’s revenue already coming from subscription-based services, that idea is not only theoretical.

The company’s next challenge will be proving that this broader model can scale without losing the reliability, trust and operational discipline that persistent telecom services demand.

That is especially important because Numero is not trying to replace mobile operators. As Ibrahim Rayyan makes clear, the networks, spectrum and regulatory infrastructure will continue to sit largely with traditional telecom players. The opportunity for companies like Numero is higher up the stack: aggregating those capabilities, simplifying them and turning a complex global telecom ecosystem into one customer relationship.

That may ultimately be the more important eSIM story.

Not who can sell another 10GB package in 200 countries.

But who can build the account the customer still needs when the trip is over.