The report highlights the role of industry-wide collaboration in driving eSIM developments in China involving operators, government and regulatory bodies. Based on the premise of national conditions, TAF has been committed to all parties in the joint industrial chain and cooperation with the GSMA, to make the best efforts to this end.” “Promoting the steady development of eSIM in China will help support developments in both the consumer and industrial markets. China is increasingly demonstrating its technological innovation and is emerging as a leading global market to test and implement new technologies,” said Xie Yi, Chairman of TAF. “China has a unique mobile market, both in terms of size and revenue growth and leadership in mobile developments and tech innovation has reached unprecedented levels.
Globally, over fifty mobile operators already support eSIM functionality in smartphones. Despite creating smartphones for the global market, the Chinese domestic market has not formally adopted eSIM technology which will require appropriate regulation and new manufacturing, logistical and supply chain processes. To drive adoption, Chinese operators are also allowing consumers to use their smartwatches as secondary devices with one mobile subscription. Although eSIM smartwatches still account for a small percentage of total smartwatch ownership this is likely to increase in the future. Smartwatches with eSIM technology are gaining momentum in China supported by products from numerous vendors. Smartwatches Dominate eSIM Deployments Smartphone Adoption Will Take Time “From consumer electronics to automotive we are seeing a diverse array of products hitting the market utilizing the benefits of connectivity and bringing consumers choice.” “In China and around the world, the huge adoption of eSIM technologies has been underpinned by the GSMA’s common and interoperable specification that is reducing fragmentation and delivering a consistent consumer experience,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. The in-depth report which is titled “ eSIM in China: the road ahead ” and was prepared by GSMA Intelligence in partnership with the Telecommunication Terminal Industry Forum Association (TAF), draws on fresh insights from China’s three mobile operators – China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom – as well other companies from the wider mobile ecosystem 1 and highlights developments particularly in the consumer electronics and IoT sectors. Consumer Electronics and Internet of Things Sectors Implementing Technology in New Products Over 90 Mobile Companies Supporting GSMA eSIM Specifications for Consumer Devices Worldwideīarcelona: The GSMA today announced the release of a new report highlighting the significant progress made by Chinese mobile operators, vendors and manufacturers in adopting Remote SIM Provisioning and eSIM technologies.