eSIM Weekly Briefing: February 9–15, 2026

T-Mobile Smashes Records, Deutsche Telekom Bets €1B on Sovereign AI, US Carriers Go eSIM-Default

TL;DR: T-Mobile delivers industry-leading Q4 2025 results with 7.8 million postpaid net adds for the full year, raises multi-year guidance through 2027, and targets 18–19 million broadband customers by 2030. Deutsche Telekom and NVIDIA launch a €1 billion sovereign AI cloud in Munich with 10,000 Blackwell GPUs, increasing Germany’s AI compute capacity by 50%. US carriers accelerate the eSIM-only transition as physical SIMs disappear from point-of-sale. Amazon’s Eero Signal brings eSIM cellular backup to home internet. In the travel eSIM market, Valid partners with Airalo to enhance 20M+ users’ connectivity experience, while Saily expands to 150+ countries. Looking ahead, MWC Barcelona 2026 (March 2–5) features a dedicated eSIM Summit and multiple eSIM-focused exhibitors.

Carrier Developments

T-Mobile Q4 2025: Industry-Best Results Across the Board

T-Mobile US reported fourth quarter and full year 2025 results on February 11, delivering industry-leading customer growth in every major category. The Un-carrier added 7.8 million total postpaid net customers in 2025 (2.4 million in Q4 alone), including 3.3 million postpaid phone net additions and 2.0 million broadband net additions—all industry best.
CEO Srini Gopalan used the concurrent Capital Markets Day Update to raise multi-year guidance through 2027. Key updated targets include approximately $77 billion in 2026 service revenue (8% growth, 6% organic), $3 billion in incremental EBITDA savings from AI and digitalization by 2027, and a doubled Q1 2026 share buyback of $5 billion. T-Mobile also won J.D. Power’s network quality award for the first time in 35 reports over 17 years.
The broadband strategy received significant attention. T-Mobile raised its FWA growth target to 15 million connections by 2030, plus 3–4 million fiber customers through its nascent T-Fiber product, for a combined broadband target of 18–19 million customers by 2030. Gopalan framed this as equivalent to over 50 million homes passed when combining FWA coverage with fiber.
eSIM relevance: T-Mobile’s massive postpaid growth is increasingly eSIM-driven, with digital activation playing a central role in the Un-carrier’s customer acquisition strategy. The AI and digitalization investments directly support streamlined eSIM provisioning and remote device management at scale.
Source: T-Mobile Newsroom

Deutsche Telekom Launches €1B Sovereign AI Cloud with NVIDIA

Deutsche Telekom and NVIDIA launched one of Europe’s largest AI factories in early February 2026. The Industrial AI Cloud, based in Munich’s Tucherpark district, represents a €1 billion investment featuring more than 1,000 NVIDIA DGX B200 systems with up to 10,000 Blackwell GPUs, delivering 0.5 exaFLOPS of compute power and approximately 20 petabytes of storage. The facility increases Germany’s AI computing capacity by roughly 50%.
The partnership with SAP creates the “Deutschland-Stack,” a sovereign infrastructure ensuring European data sovereignty while serving manufacturing, automotive, robotics, healthcare, energy, and pharmaceutical sectors. Early customers include Siemens, Agile Robots, and PhysicsX, with over 33% utilization already committed. DT CEO Tim Höttges and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang positioned the facility as enabling a new era of Germany’s industrial AI transformation.
eSIM relevance: DT’s investment signals the telecom-to-platform evolution underway at major carriers. As operators build AI infrastructure, eSIM and iSIM become critical enablers for the billions of IoT devices generating the industrial data these AI factories will process.
Source: Deutsche Telekom

US Carriers Accelerate eSIM-Only Transition

Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are reducing physical SIM card availability at scale in early 2026. Reports indicate that physical SIMs are no longer guaranteed at point of sale, with online orders defaulting to eSIM activation. The shift marks a significant operational milestone as the three largest US carriers move simultaneously toward eSIM-first customer onboarding.
The transition reflects both Apple’s eSIM-only iPhone strategy in the US market (since iPhone 14 in 2022) and growing carrier confidence in eSIM provisioning infrastructure. For consumers, the change means faster in-store activations and the ability to switch carriers digitally, though it raises accessibility questions for travelers and users of older devices.
Source: UnlockBase

Device & Technology News

Amazon’s Eero Signal: eSIM-Powered Cellular Backup for Home Internet

Amazon announced the Eero Signal on February 12, a $99 cellular backup device that uses eSIM to provide 4G LTE connectivity during home internet outages. The device automatically activates when it detects the primary internet connection has failed, maintaining connectivity for smart home devices, security cameras, and remote work.
A 5G version priced at $199 is expected later in 2026. The product represents a notable expansion of eSIM into the home networking category, leveraging embedded SIM technology to simplify cellular failover without requiring users to manage separate mobile plans or physical SIM cards.
Source: 9to5Mac

OneSimCard IoT Launches Consumer IoT Track SIM

OneSimCard IoT launched the IoT Track SIM on February 16, a global SIM card designed specifically for consumer IoT applications including GPS trackers, security cameras, wearables, pet trackers, and smart home equipment. The card provides data and SMS connectivity in more than 200 countries and territories, with automatic network selection optimized for IoT use cases rather than voice-centric plans.
The launch highlights growing consumer demand for purpose-built IoT connectivity solutions that bridge the gap between enterprise M2M SIMs and standard consumer mobile plans.
Source: OpenPR

Travel eSIM Market

Valid Partners with Airalo for Enhanced RSP and QoS Intelligence

Valid, a global leader in trusted connectivity and eSIM technologies, announced a strategic collaboration with Airalo on February 5. Airalo, the world’s largest travel eSIM platform with 20 million+ users across 200+ destinations, now leverages Valid’s high-availability SM-DP+ platform for secure eSIM profile lifecycle management worldwide.
The partnership also integrates Valid’s Quality of Service (QoS) intelligence solution, which continuously monitors, compares, and optimizes connectivity performance across partner networks in real time. While currently deployed for Airalo’s travel eSIM offering, the QoS platform is architected for broader applications including IoT connectivity scenarios requiring large-scale network performance insights.
Source: PR Newswire

Saily Expands to 150+ Countries, Plans from $3.50

Saily, the travel eSIM service from Nord Security (makers of NordVPN), announced expanded coverage to over 150 countries with data plans starting at $3.50. The company plans to add 25 new destinations throughout 2026. Saily differentiates through its integration with Nord Security’s privacy and security infrastructure, appealing to privacy-conscious travelers.
Source: TravelWires

AloOui Launches 2026 Connectivity Strategy

AloOui introduced its 2026 travel connectivity strategy with a holiday campaign offering up to 55% savings on eSIM data plans. The provider offers global, regional, and country-specific plans in over 200 destinations with flexible validity options including 180-day validity periods for long-term travelers and digital nomads. The company positions eSIM adoption as “the new normal” for international travel connectivity.
Source: OpenPR

Market Intelligence

Juniper Research: eSIM Connections to Reach 1.5 Billion in 2026

Juniper Research forecasts global eSIM connections will reach 1.5 billion in 2026, representing 30% growth from an estimated 1.2 billion in 2025. The research firm highlights SGP.32 IoT adoption as a key growth driver, projecting 75 million new IoT eSIM connections in verticals including logistics, oil and gas, and smart lighting.
The forecast underscores the dual-track growth trajectory: consumer eSIM driven by smartphone adoption and carrier eSIM-first strategies, alongside enterprise/IoT eSIM powered by SGP.32 specification maturity and expanding use cases.
Source: Juniper Research

2026 eSIM Trends: AI Orchestration, Satellite Integration, and Fintech Convergence

1Global’s 2026 connectivity trends report identifies several emerging themes shaping the eSIM landscape: AI-powered network orchestration for intelligent carrier selection and performance optimization; multi-orbit satellite integration with 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTN) for ubiquitous coverage; MVNO-travel eSIM convergence as traditional operators and travel eSIM providers compete on overlapping ground; and fintech-connectivity integration bundling payments, identity, and mobile data into unified digital services.
Source: 1Global

MWC Barcelona 2026 Preview

Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2026 (March 2–5) is shaping up to feature significant eSIM activity:
• eSIM Summit (March 4, 12:30–14:30): “eSIM Everywhere, eSIM Without Borders” session examining consumer and IoT deployments, market growth, regional dynamics, and regulatory developments.
• M2M France: Launching app-free eSIM activation via social media platforms—positioning among the first companies to enable truly frictionless travel eSIM provisioning.
• Valid: Showcasing eSIM/iSIM solutions and IoT connectivity from Executive Meeting Room Lounge positions.
• 4YFN Awards: ZIM Connections (UK) named among the Top 20 startups for simplifying global connectivity with region-specific eSIM plans via a single platform.
Source: MWC Barcelona

Quick Hits

• Vodafone Business detailed 173 live private 5G deployments across approximately 20 countries at its UPTIME event, signaling new vendor additions and enterprise momentum.
• UK Government launched a market review noting up to $46.3 billion is required for nationwide standalone 5G deployment by 2030.
• Rakuten Mobile posted its first full-year EBITDA profit (JPY12.9 billion) and plans to invest over JPY200 million in fiscal 2026.
• Virgin Media O2 launched 5G Standalone in the Manchester region as part of a wider national SA 5G expansion plan.
• América Móvil decided not to proceed with a joint bid for Telefónica’s Chilean business, though CEO Daniel Hajj described the market as strategically important.