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eSIM Industry Weekly Briefing: January 12–18, 2026
TL;DR: Verizon closes its landmark $20B Frontier acquisition on January 20, expanding fiber to 30 million passings while T-Mobile pushes ahead with 5G-Advanced features. CES 2026 delivered significant eSIM announcements including RayNeo's world-first eSIM-enabled AR glasses backed by Chinese telecom giants, NETGEAR's new Nighthawk M7 hotspot with built-in eSIM marketplace, and multiple SGP.32-compliant IoT solutions. The travel eSIM market continues its aggressive growth trajectory with Juniper Research projecting $1.8B in 2025 revenues (up 85% YoY), while GSMA Intelligence forecasts global eSIM smartphone connections doubling between 2025 and 2026.
Major Carrier Developments
Verizon-Frontier Acquisition Closes January 20
Verizon Communications and Frontier Communications received all required regulatory approvals and will close their acquisition on January 20, 2026. The deal significantly strengthens Verizon's integrated connectivity portfolio, combining Frontier's high-speed fiber network with Verizon's nationwide 5G mobile capabilities.
Following completion, Verizon will expand its fiber footprint to nearly 30 million fiber passings across 31 states and Washington, D.C. Additional financial details will be shared during Verizon's Q4 2025 earnings call scheduled for January 30, 2026.
T-Mobile Leads 5G-Advanced Rollout
T-Mobile continues its network leadership, planning to launch "at least half a dozen" 5G-Advanced features in 2026, according to Chief Network Officer Ankur Kapoor. The carrier recently launched three uplink transmitters on select devices and plans to introduce dynamic network slicing early in 2026, enabling customers to create end-to-end network slices "with just a credit card."
T-Mobile has deployed 5G-Advanced Uplink Tx Switching, which Fierce reports will support devices including the iPhone 17, Samsung GS25 Ultra, Samsung Fold 7, Motorola Edge 2025, and Motorola RAZR Ultra. The carrier remains the first US operator deploying 5G-A at scale, including L4S (Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable throughput) and RedCap capabilities.
5G Standalone Monetization Challenges Persist
Despite 1.7 billion 5G standalone connections globally in 2025, major operators including BT, AT&T, and Verizon have struggled to generate corresponding revenue growth from their SA deployments. This disconnect between technological achievement and commercial returns continues to challenge the sector, with operators finding more success through focused enterprise verticals rather than broad consumer propositions.
AT&T's Mitsubishi Motors partnership enabling over-the-air software updates for the Outlander SUV via standalone 5G exemplifies targeted vertical strategies gaining traction.
CES 2026 eSIM Announcements
RayNeo Unveils World's First eSIM-Enabled AR Glasses
Chinese AR brand RayNeo previewed the RayNeo X3 Pro – Project eSIM at CES 2026, the world's first consumer AR glasses concept with integrated eSIM and 4G connectivity. The device aims to liberate AR glasses from smartphone dependency by integrating camera, display, and cellular networking directly into the frames.
Notably, the company secured funding from China Unicom's Unicom Innovation Capital and investment arms of China Mobile (CM Beijing Fund and CM Shanghai Fund), marking the first strategic entry of China's major telecommunications operators into the smart glasses sector. Operators will provide critical resources in eSIM management, 5G-Advanced networks, and content partnerships.
NETGEAR Nighthawk M7 with eSIM Marketplace
NETGEAR announced pre-orders for the Nighthawk 5G M7 Portable WiFi 7 Hotspot (MH7150) with integrated eSIM marketplace, shipping January 27, 2026 at $499.99 MSRP. The device enables users to purchase and activate data plans in over 140 countries directly through the NETGEAR app without roaming fees.
Key specifications include WiFi 7 speeds up to 3.6 Gbps, support for up to 32 devices, and the Qualcomm® Dragonwing® SDX72 Chipset. The device is unlocked, supporting both physical SIMs and third-party eSIMs for global flexibility.
Source: NETGEAR Investor Relations
TEAL Launches SGP.32 Chameleon eSIM with BYOC
TEAL announced its SGP.32 Chameleon eSIM card at CES 2026, featuring Bring Your Own Carrier (BYOC) flexibility. Enterprises with existing MNO agreements can onboard carrier plans directly into TEAL's Aurora platform as "BYOC Network Apps," preserving negotiated pricing while leveraging TEAL's orchestration capabilities.
The platform includes OpenEIM, TEAL's open, SGP.32-compatible eSIM IoT remote manager, removing traditional barriers like proprietary systems and limited interoperability.
emnify Debuts Factory-First IoT Connectivity
emnify introduced its factory-first approach to IoT connectivity at CES 2026, built around Bootstrap Connectivity and a single global eSIM SKU. The SGP.32-ready eSIM orchestration stack allows devices to connect instantly from the production line, eliminating manual SIM handling, fragmented SKUs, and first-boot activation failures.
The approach enables devices to connect immediately at first power-up using a provider-independent bootstrap profile that supports bring-your-own-carrier flexibility throughout the device lifecycle.
EIOTCLUB Third-Generation IoT eSIM
Seattle-based EIOTCLUB debuted its third-generation IoT eSIM physical card alongside the EIM (eSIM IoT Manager) remote management platform. Built to GSMA SGP.32 standards and GSMA Security Accreditation Scheme (SAS-UP) certified, the solution supports batch remote SIM management for unattended devices, cross-region deployments, and always-on operations.
Target applications include security cameras, network routers, mPOS devices, and industrial IoT equipment.
Travel eSIM Market
Market Growth Accelerates
Juniper Research projects travel-eSIM package revenues reaching $1.8 billion in 2025 (up approximately 85% YoY), while overall eSIM connections are on track to more than triple by 2030 as China's Tier-1 operators embrace eSIM. Kaleido Intelligence's July survey across 20 markets suggests nearly 1 in 3 travelers could use travel eSIM by 2030.
GSMA Intelligence's Industry Checkpoint highlights a clear uptick in operator-branded travel eSIM, along with new use cases including FWA, kids' wearables, and on-demand temporary connectivity.
Provider Competition Intensifies
The travel eSIM market continues to see intense competition between major providers. Comparisons between Airalo and Holafly dominate consumer discussions, with key differentiators including:
- Holafly: Unlimited data plans, transparency on local carrier partnerships, stronger performance in Asia and Europe
- Airalo: Pay-per-GB model, cheaper entry pricing, extensive loyalty program with up to 10% cashback
Consumer reviews indicate Holafly's unlimited plans appeal to digital nomads and heavy users, while Airalo remains popular for budget-conscious short-trip travelers.
[Sources: Travel eSIM Expert, We Seek Travel]
IoT & Enterprise eSIM
SGP.32 Reaches Commercial Maturity
2026 marks the full commercial rollout of the SGP.32 specification, representing the most significant disruption to the IoT connectivity landscape in a decade. The standard introduces the eSIM IoT Remote Manager (eIM), replacing complex SMS triggers with IP-based protocols and allowing enterprises to control profile switching directly.
Through 2026, SGP.32 will increasingly be leveraged by enterprises to switch connectivity providers to optimize costs or coverage, addressing the persistent issue of vendor lock-in.
Deployment Challenges Persist
IoT Business News analysis highlights that while eSIM and iSIM are now strong building blocks, deployment challenges remain primarily in systems integration: factory integration, backend orchestration, operator readiness, and lifecycle operations. Teams that succeed treat eSIM/iSIM as an operational capability rather than a component choice.
Key concerns include:
- Mixed standards requiring parallel processes across SGP.02, SGP.22, and SGP.32
- Bootstrap and recovery procedures when devices can't reach provisioning backends
- Factory robustness and expected failure rates during in-factory provisioning
- Commercial governance across multiple operators and resellers
Cellular IoT Trends
Key cellular IoT trends for 2026 include:
- Legacy network sunsets: 37 operators phasing out 2G and 39 retiring 3G networks throughout 2025-2026
- 5G RedCap adoption: Filling bandwidth gaps between NB-IoT/LTE-M and full 5G
- Multi-mode modules: Supporting LTE-M, NB-IoT, and RedCap with eSIM capability
- Satellite-cellular convergence: 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) specifications enabling standard 5G devices to connect via satellite
Market Intelligence
GSMA Intelligence Forecasts
- Global eSIM smartphone connections expected to double between 2025 and 2026
- 4.9 billion eSIM smartphone connections projected by 2030 (55% of all smartphone connections)
- By 2028, half of smartphone connections globally will use eSIM
- Operators expect eSIM and iSIM to account for a combined ~70% of the cellular IoT market by 2030
[Sources: Telecoms.com, 1Global]
Regional Adoption Variations
- North America: eSIM-only devices have normalized digital activation
- Europe: Widespread availability creates competitive pressure for accelerated entitlement deployment
- Asia Pacific: Expected to lead with 98% eSIM penetration in some markets by 2030
- China: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology approved eSIM trials in October 2025; all three major carriers now offering eSIM services
Awareness Gap Remains
Despite eSIM utility, awareness rates remain low. Kaleido Intelligence notes only 35% in the US knew what an eSIM is, reflecting how early the market remains in the adoption curve despite hardware proliferation.
Key Dates & Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 20, 2026 | Verizon-Frontier acquisition closing |
| January 27, 2026 | NETGEAR Nighthawk M7 shipping begins |
| January 30, 2026 | Verizon Q4 2025 earnings call |
| March 2–5, 2026 | MWC Barcelona 2026 |