iPhones only with eSIM: Mobile network providers fear loss of customer loyalty
Smartphone giants such as Apple could use eSIMs to expand their market power, warn British mobile operators – and turn to regulators.
(Image: New Africa/Shutterstock.com)
iPhones without a physical SIM card slot are apparently making mobile network providers nervous. In the UK, network operators BT Group (EE) and Virgin Media O2 have appealed to the local competition authority. According to a report in the Telegraph, they are warning the regulators that smartphone giants such as Apple could use the technology to further expand their dominance on the mobile phone market. Specifically, mobile operators fear that manufacturers could use eSIMs to push themselves between network operators and customers – and that mobile operators would ultimately lose direct customer contact.
Mobile operators call for investigation
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should investigate whether device manufacturers are using their "dominant position in the market to gain an advantage", according to a now published submission by BT Group, which was made in December. eSIMs bring with them the "risk of disintermediation" in the telecommunications industry, meaning the loss of customer loyalty.
In a market study at the end of November 2024, British competition authorities came to the conclusion that Apple was torpedoing innovations in mobile browsers by forcing users to use the WebKit browser engine. A few days ago, the CMA opened an investigation into Apple and Google.
SIM card slot on Apple's hit list
Permanently integrated SIMs (eSIMs) are no longer a rarity in smartphones, but the option of inserting a physical SIM card almost always remains. The biggest outlier is Apple: the manufacturer has been dispensing with a SIM card slot in devices produced for the USA since the iPhone 14. The slot has also recently disappeared from new iPads.
According to a report, the iPhone 17 series expected in fall 2025 will remove the slot in other regions. Whether this will include Germany remains to be seen. A new, extremely thin model is also expected this year, which has so far been referred to as the "iPhone 17 Air". Apple is having difficulties integrating a SIM card slot due to the thin casing and may decide not to do so, according to recent reports. So far, however, the company has continued to sell the pure eSIM iPhones in the USA via major network operators and still does not offer any mobile services itself.
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