Singtel, China Unicom, Bridge Alliance launch eSIM network swap service

This will enable customers to perform eSIM swap over-the-air.

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) is collaborating with China Unicom and mobile alliance Bridge Alliance to enable customers of both companies to perform embedded SIM (eSIM) changes over-the-air (OTA), according to an announcement.

The collaboration aims to relieve customers from the need to manually configure their devices’ SIM cards to change networks in either China or Singapore.

Under the collaboration, devices which are equipped with China Unicom eSIMs will automatically switch their profiles to Singtel’s when they are brought into Singapore. The devices’ embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC) will also download and activate Singtel’s profiles through a GSMA-compliant subscription manager platform.

The collaboration follows a successful eSIM swap trial in early April where China Unicom managed to swap its eSIM profiles to Singtel’s using Bridge Alliance’s technical and commercial capabilities.

Singtel Group Enterprise vice president for enterprise mobility product and platform, Dennis Wong, notes that the collaboration will help drive more seamless connectivity and broader IoT adoption, and augment Singtel’s IoT ecosystem of partners.

“By leveraging our extensive, secure IoT connectivity services, enterprises can have greater control over mission-critical operations in real-time and increase business productivity,” he added.