Airtel is the second biggest telecom operator in India with over 350 million active subscribers. The company has been actively expanding its 5G network across the country and also launched its AirFiber services enabling a broadband-like internet experience in areas where optical fiber is not available.
Airtel is now recommending its users to switch to an e-SIM from physical SIM cards. The company’s CEO highlighted the benefits of using digital SIM cards that can help in tracking stolen devices. Here’s why Airtel wants you to adopt the latest cellular technology.
e-SIM Better Than Physical SIM, Suggests Airtel CEO
Airtel’s CEO Gopal Vittal wrote an email to the company’s wireless subscribers in India. He mentions that e-SIMs are a digital extension to your physical SIM card, and offer extra security measures that benefit the user.
Mittal says that devices with e-SIM are easy to track when stolen. In most cases, when a thief steals a phone, they quickly remove the physical SIM which makes it harder to trace. In the case of e-SIM, it becomes really difficult for thieves to disconnect the phone from cellular networks. This gives the user and police officials enough time and resources to track the criminal.
Another advantage listed by Mittal is the growing availability of smartwatches with e-SIM connectivity. Users going for a jog in the morning can continue to stay connected using e-SIM on their smartwatch, while their phone remains at home.
Users having a compatible device can instantly switch to an e-SIM for free using the Airtel Thanks app. The CEO says that Airtel has made the switching process as seamless as possible for its users.
While the benefits mentioned by Airtel are genuine and truly helpful for its users, there’s another reason why the company would like you to switch to an e-SIM. And no, they did not mention this special benefit in the email.
e-SIM Could Save Airtel a Lot of Money
Although one may not notice, manufacturing and distributing physical SIM cards is a significant operational cost for any telecom operator. SIM cards are made from plastic, silicon, and small portions of gold. The company also has to ship these SIMs all over India, and that costs a lot of money.
In the case of e-SIM, there is no physical product required to manufacture, and it can be activated digitally with almost no paperwork. If more users switch to e-SIM, then the demand for physical SIM cards will eventually reduce. Given the volume of subscribers that Airtel has, it will save them millions of dollars each year with a simple switch to e-SIM.
However, this transition will take a significant time as e-SIM availability on smartphones is still very limited. The cost-saving factor for Airtel with e-SIM is a long-shot reason, but it surely has some benefit for the company which is evident as they are urging users to switch to it.
