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> eSIMs are a massive win when travelling, too. Instantly activate a data plan at cheap local rates in whatever country your travelling to, without having to fi

> eSIMs are a massive win when travelling, too. Instantly activate a data plan at cheap local rates in whatever country your travelling to, without having to first get your hands on a physical SIM... For many years I've owned dual-SIM phones and on many occasions have bought a local SIM a the airport or corner store when travelling for a week or more to countires outside my roaming allowance. This is almost always cheap, usually also easy, but can sometimes be a hassle if it takes a bit of time to track down the SIM. When I bought my current phone with one physical and one eSIM, I was expecting it to be a huge improvement. The reality so far has been rather different... Twice now I have had to waste a lot of time online shopping around to find an eSIM for the destination country. Most of the international providers are surprisingly expensive (often 10x the cost of a locally bought SIM), have awful websites that look like they were thrown together in a weekend, and they often require you to install their own app to manage the eSIM/account, which is also invariably awful. You're also less likely to have much choice of which network you end up on, which can be a significant issue in less developed countries. Now that I only have one physical SIM slot and always need it for my home country SIM (my mobile provider doesn't yet even support eSIMs) I regret chosing eSIM over a dual SIM phone. I do expect the situation to improve, but for now at least it still feels like a big step backwards for travel compared to dual SIM.

JCharante 4y ago
While a local sim is always cheaper than something resold, apps like Nomad make buying a 3-5GB esim in the range of $15-25 super easy. It might cost only $2 for that if you were to buy a local sim in-person, but as long as the cost is not absurd then it's worth the convenience of having internet as soon as the plane lands & while going through the airport without having to rely on the wifi.
- Nullabillity 4y ago
  10xing the cost is pretty absurd, though...
Reason077 4y ago
I was really thinking of being able to grab an eSIM directly for a local network, rather than one of the "global eSIM providers". You'd just grab your eSIM over WiFi when you land rather than seeking out a physical SIM from an airport vendor. Obviously it's not the reality that these are easily available in all destinations, yet, but should become more so over time.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  There's frankly no reason for a local network to make it easy for foreigners to sign up when they can instead get paid 10x as much in roaming fees if the foreigner stays on their home network instead.
  - Reason077 4y ago
    Sure there is: competition. Why let your competitor network grab those 10x roaming fees when you can grab the 1x yourself? Last time I was in Thailand, vendors at the airport were practically falling over themselves to sell you their SIM card on their network! Besides, I doubt roaming fees are all that lucrative considering all the "free global roaming" plans there are now days. Those networks that charge crazy per-MB roaming rates are, presumably, keeping most of it for themselves.
    - Nextgrid 4y ago
      Free global roaming is paid by the home carrier - it doesn't necessarily make it free at the visited carrier.
      - vinay427 4y ago
        It seems like they meant that the existence of free global roaming suggests that roaming fees may not be very lucrative for the visited carrier, and exorbitant roaming rates are mostly to the benefit of the home carrier.
      - Reason077 4y ago
Symbiote 4y ago
How do eSIMs work for identity verification? The last several times I've bought SIMs outside Europe, I've had to show my passport.
- Gasp0de 4y ago
  Outside Europe? Identity verification is mandatory in the EU and afaik there are very few states that haven't implemented it in local law (the netherlands and croatia, I think).
  - Symbiote 4y ago
    I haven't bought one in Europe, since I have both registered and anonymous Danish SIMs, and an anonymous British SIM. (They can be bought anonymously in both countries.) Are you sure it's EU law? I can't find anything on it.
    - jaclaz 4y ago
      No, it is not EU (AFAIK). Anyway, besides Britain (both before and after Brexit), there is only a handful of countries in EU that do not require ID, among them Denmark: https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/sim-card-registration-laws/ https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/sim-card-regist... most do require it.
wil421 4y ago
I have not traveled out of the country since Covid but the last few times I would just enable an international plan on my carriers account. It was not much more than a local sim and I was able to use my number and everything.
mFixman 4y ago
My experience is very different than yours. I think you are getting scammed: airport SIMs are way more expensive than actual SIMs you get in town and eSIM you get on an app like Airalo. International providers are obsolete in the age of the eSIM, since you can get a local provider at the click of a button. eSIMs are still a bit more expensive than physical SIMs you buy in a phone shop far from any airport... but that expense is worth having internet from the second you land. My only disappointment with this is how hard it is to migrate, but eSIMs work perfectly for travelling.
- lxgr 4y ago
  > airport SIMs are way more expensive than actual SIMs you get in town That's definitely not true for many of the places I've visited. Additionally, the airport SIM shops are often the only retailers that know how to register/KYC SIM cards with international passports and/or where the staff speaks English.

JCharante 4y ago

While a local sim is always cheaper than something resold, apps like Nomad make buying a 3-5GB esim in the range of $15-25 super easy. It might cost only $2 for that if you were to buy a local sim in-person, but as long as the cost is not absurd then it's worth the convenience of having internet as soon as the plane lands & while going through the airport without having to rely on the wifi.

Nullabillity 4y ago
10xing the cost is pretty absurd, though...

Reason077 4y ago

I was really thinking of being able to grab an eSIM directly for a local network, rather than one of the "global eSIM providers". You'd just grab your eSIM over WiFi when you land rather than seeking out a physical SIM from an airport vendor. Obviously it's not the reality that these are easily available in all destinations, yet, but should become more so over time.

Nextgrid 4y ago
There's frankly no reason for a local network to make it easy for foreigners to sign up when they can instead get paid 10x as much in roaming fees if the foreigner stays on their home network instead.
- Reason077 4y ago
  Sure there is: competition. Why let your competitor network grab those 10x roaming fees when you can grab the 1x yourself? Last time I was in Thailand, vendors at the airport were practically falling over themselves to sell you their SIM card on their network! Besides, I doubt roaming fees are all that lucrative considering all the "free global roaming" plans there are now days. Those networks that charge crazy per-MB roaming rates are, presumably, keeping most of it for themselves.
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    Free global roaming is paid by the home carrier - it doesn't necessarily make it free at the visited carrier.
    - vinay427 4y ago
      It seems like they meant that the existence of free global roaming suggests that roaming fees may not be very lucrative for the visited carrier, and exorbitant roaming rates are mostly to the benefit of the home carrier.
    - Reason077 4y ago

Symbiote 4y ago

How do eSIMs work for identity verification? The last several times I've bought SIMs outside Europe, I've had to show my passport.

Gasp0de 4y ago
Outside Europe? Identity verification is mandatory in the EU and afaik there are very few states that haven't implemented it in local law (the netherlands and croatia, I think).
- Symbiote 4y ago
  I haven't bought one in Europe, since I have both registered and anonymous Danish SIMs, and an anonymous British SIM. (They can be bought anonymously in both countries.) Are you sure it's EU law? I can't find anything on it.
  - jaclaz 4y ago
    No, it is not EU (AFAIK). Anyway, besides Britain (both before and after Brexit), there is only a handful of countries in EU that do not require ID, among them Denmark: https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/sim-card-registration-laws/ https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/sim-card-regist... most do require it.

wil421 4y ago

I have not traveled out of the country since Covid but the last few times I would just enable an international plan on my carriers account. It was not much more than a local sim and I was able to use my number and everything.

mFixman 4y ago

My experience is very different than yours. I think you are getting scammed: airport SIMs are way more expensive than actual SIMs you get in town and eSIM you get on an app like Airalo. International providers are obsolete in the age of the eSIM, since you can get a local provider at the click of a button. eSIMs are still a bit more expensive than physical SIMs you buy in a phone shop far from any airport... but that expense is worth having internet from the second you land. My only disappointment with this is how hard it is to migrate, but eSIMs work perfectly for travelling.

lxgr 4y ago
> airport SIMs are way more expensive than actual SIMs you get in town That's definitely not true for many of the places I've visited. Additionally, the airport SIM shops are often the only retailers that know how to register/KYC SIM cards with international passports and/or where the staff speaks English.