{"text":[[{"start":7.38,"text":"Demand for eSIM cards used for travel is on course to jump by around a third this year as international travellers seek out cheaper alternatives to data roaming packages, posing a threat to traditional mobile operators."}],[{"start":20.88,"text":"Analysts at researcher FDM CCS Insight estimated that around 134mn travel eSIMs would be used globally this year, up from 101.8mn in 2025."}],[{"start":32.88,"text":"Consumers are downloading eSIMs from players including Airalo, which has raised close to $300mn from investors including private equity firm CVC, and Saily, an operator owned by NordVPN developer Nord Security."}],[{"start":46.72,"text":"They offer data packages for overseas travellers that are typically cheaper than roaming deals from their existing mobile provider."}],[{"start":53.44,"text":"The trend was posing a growing challenge to established mobile players, who made between 3-5 per cent of revenues from roaming, according to Joe Gardiner, analyst at FDM CCS, who added that this income was typically higher margin."}],[{"start":67.32,"text":"“How [operators] react to that challenge, whether that’s through innovation, pricing parity or better service, will determine how much of that revenue is at risk,” Gardiner added."}],[{"start":77.5,"text":"The five most popular eSIM apps have been downloaded more than 26mn times so far this year, following 36.4mn downloads in 2025, according to data from market research group Sensor Tower."}],[{"start":90.74,"text":"Companies including Revolut and Klarna also offer eSIM data packages to their customers. An example eSIM from Revolut provides users with 1GB of data over seven days for £3.49, whereas BT-owned EE can charge £8 for 500MB of data to use in a 24-hour period."}],[{"start":110.44,"text":"Researchers at STL Partners estimate the travel eSIM market was worth £649mn in 2025 and could reach £3.2bn by 2030."}],[{"start":120.88,"text":"The growth has been fuelled by an increase in the number of smartphones that are compatible with eSIMs. More than 326 handsets, including Apple’s iPhone range, accepted eSIMs in 2025, an increase of almost 50 per cent on the previous year, according to data from mobile industry body GSMA."}],[{"start":139.12,"text":"Saily chief executive Vykintas Maknickas said the eSIM market was benefiting from widespread consumer awareness."}],[{"start":144.16,"text":"“The market’s moving from educating customers to converting them and that conversion is accelerating,” he said."}],[{"start":152.2,"text":"The proliferation of travel eSIMs adds to the challenges facing incumbent mobile operators, which are contending with competition from mobile virtual network operators that use their networks to offer full services without needing to build their own infrastructure."}],[{"start":166.36,"text":"The FT reported in May that the UK’s three mobile network operators had experienced their worst year of customer losses on record in 2025."}],[{"start":175.8,"text":"Hermann Frank, chief executive of Gigs, the connectivity start-up whose technology underpins the mobile offerings of Revolut and Klarna, said the development of eSIMs had enabled a “full end-to-end digital telecoms service”."}],[{"start":189.64,"text":"“The structural advantage that these players have is that they don’t have to pay for customer acquisition cost and have a better user experience as well; you just need to click a button on the app,” he said."}],[{"start":206.16,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787119138_3114.mp3"}