3 ms·

Personally I feel that this is a step in the right direction, albeit at the cost of some user pain in the short term. Prepaid SIMs are already manufactured, pac

Personally I feel that this is a step in the right direction, albeit at the cost of some user pain in the short term. Prepaid SIMs are already manufactured, packaged, and shipped to convenience stores, so why not a Prepaid eSIM QR code? I imagine that it'd be cheaper to print a simple QR code for an entire factory run than to have SIM cards manufactured with unique data on them, and the savings can be spent upgrading the infrastructure to support eSIM (a one-time process).

cutierust 4y ago
I would like a self service way to get e sim codes when I want to do a lot of swapping
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  Twilio can provide SM-DP codes that will provision eSIMs.
csande17 4y ago
> Prepaid SIMs are already manufactured, packaged, and shipped to convenience stores, so why not a Prepaid eSIM QR code? Unlike regular SIM cards, the eSIM QR code doesn't actually contain your subscriber information. Everyone who uses the carrier gets the same code. This can make the process of signing up for a new carrier more complex, as you need to tell them your phone's IMEI number before you attempt to use the SIM. (This also makes switching devices harder; you can't just pop the SIM out and use it in a different phone.) So a post-eSIM prepaid carrier would probably end up selling something like iTunes gift cards, with a code you have to scratch off and type into a website. Or they'd just sell exclusively online.
- gst 4y ago
  > Everyone who uses the carrier gets the same code. I don't think that this is always the case: For my eSIM at T-Mobile US it was as you described: The QR code appeared to be a general QR code and T-Mobile seems to have recognized my phone based on the IMEI that I configured previously. But for my eSIM at another European carrier that I'm using each QR code appears to be different and at no point in the process the website asks about an IMEI.

cutierust 4y ago

I would like a self service way to get e sim codes when I want to do a lot of swapping

Nextgrid 4y ago
Twilio can provide SM-DP codes that will provision eSIMs.

csande17 4y ago

> Prepaid SIMs are already manufactured, packaged, and shipped to convenience stores, so why not a Prepaid eSIM QR code? Unlike regular SIM cards, the eSIM QR code doesn't actually contain your subscriber information. Everyone who uses the carrier gets the same code. This can make the process of signing up for a new carrier more complex, as you need to tell them your phone's IMEI number before you attempt to use the SIM. (This also makes switching devices harder; you can't just pop the SIM out and use it in a different phone.) So a post-eSIM prepaid carrier would probably end up selling something like iTunes gift cards, with a code you have to scratch off and type into a website. Or they'd just sell exclusively online.

gst 4y ago
> Everyone who uses the carrier gets the same code. I don't think that this is always the case: For my eSIM at T-Mobile US it was as you described: The QR code appeared to be a general QR code and T-Mobile seems to have recognized my phone based on the IMEI that I configured previously. But for my eSIM at another European carrier that I'm using each QR code appears to be different and at no point in the process the website asks about an IMEI.