Airtel follows Jamii, Safaricom in e-SIM roll out

An Airtel shop in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Airtel Kenya has rolled out digital SIM cards that will eliminate the need for a physical one, following its rival Safaricom in launching the technology that allows seamless switching from one mobile network to another.

The launch, which Airtel Africa chief executive Segun Ogunsanya oversaw, follows the trend in other markets such as Nigeria, where the telco launched the e-SIM (short for an embedded subscriber identity module) in January.

Airtel is promising Kenyans “endless possibilities” with the technology that allows as many as five virtual SIM cards to be stored on one e-SIM at a time and also eliminates the frequent complaints of damage or loss of the cards.

“Kenya is the second country on the continent where we are launching the e-SIM. It is environmentally friendly and offers endless possibilities in terms of convenience and ease of use. I am sure this will transform the customer experience,” said Mr Ogunsanya.

An e-SIM is a small chip placed in smartphones, tablets and wearables that you can use to connect to cellular networks across the globe without the need for a physical SIM card.

“We believe this will meet the ever-changing customer expectations and provide a better experience for our customers in Kenya,” said Ashish Malhotra, chief executive at Airtel Kenya.

Jamii Telecom Limited 2021 pioneered the technology in Kenya for its Faiba 4G, followed by Safaricom, but the uptake has been slow given that it runs on select handsets and costs more. One also has to visit the shops physically.

Cost of e-Sims

Existing Faiba 4G customers pay Sh150 to get e-SIMs, while new clients pay Sh300. Safaricom set its rate at Sh150 for current customers and Sh250 for new ones.

The charges contrast the Sh50, which Safaricom charges for ordinary SIM card purchases or replacements.

Airtel says current or new customers seeking the e-SIMs will pay Sh100, with the technology being available on 20 iPhone models, 18 models of Samsung devices and select other models of Nokia, Motorola and Google Pixel.

Safaricom e-SIMs are currently supported on six models of iPhone— XR, XS, XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE 2020— and three models of Samsung—S21, Z Fold and Note 20.

Airtel customers can download the e-SIM by scanning the QR code issued by the telco’s agents. But they will first have to check the compatibility of their phones by dialling *#06#.

One of the technology’s limitations is that transferring a person’s number to another device requires a fresh SIM swap and scan of a new QR code.

SIM cards have been evolving in size and capabilities as phone manufacturers continue to add features to smartphones and consider environmental concerns such as the use of plastics.

From the standard SIM card that was relatively bigger, the card has evolved into mini, micro and nano cards to reduce the size of the plastic holding the gold-coloured contacts and allow for smaller mobile handsets.

Now manufacturers are taking the SIM card evolution to the next level, with firms such as Apple launching the iPhone 14 series with no SIM card slot entirely on phones sold in the US.

The US models of the iPhone 14, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max use only e-SIM, but models sold in other countries have a slot for a SIM card and two e-SIMs.

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