Hampshire, UK – 24th November 2025: A new study by global tech strategists Juniper Research has revealed that 4.9 billion cellular connections will use eSIMs by 2030; rising from 1.2 billion in 2025.
This substantial growth will be driven mainly by the recent support for eSIM technology from Tier 1 operators in China, who have all now fully embraced it. This development has immediately expanded the total addressable market by over 1.7 billion mobile subscriptions this year; creating significant growth opportunities for industry stakeholders.
An extract from the report, eSIMs and iSIMs Market 2025-2030, is available as a free download.
“We expect eSIM-connected smartphones in China to surge to 364 million by 2030, despite operators in the country only commencing eSIM capabilities this year. This is a substantial growth from less than 1 million smartphones using eSIMs by the end of 2025” explained Ardit Ballhysa, Senior Research Analyst at Juniper Research.
China’s Regulatory Landscape Must Be Overcome
To succeed in China, Juniper Research believes that eSIM vendors must navigate the country’s unique regulatory complexities. Notably, stakeholders must accommodate mandatory real-name registration using a government ID to provision a mobile subscription; a challenge only present in China.
To overcome this, Juniper Research believes that novel solutions which remotely authenticate government IDs to enable remote eSIM provisioning are essential to large-scale eSIM growth in the country. “Manual identification checks remove the benefits of seamless provisioning of profiles for eSIMs and add substantial friction to the process. eSIM vendors must approach the market in China with bespoke solutions that can automate these ID checks” continued Ballhysa.
About Juniper Research
The new research suite offers the most comprehensive assessment of the eSIMs and iSIMs market to date, including insightful market analysis and in-depth forecasts for over 60 countries. The dataset contains over 290,000 market statistics within a five-year period. It includes a Competitor Leaderboard and an examination of current and future market opportunities.
Juniper Research is a global tech strategist firm providing research, data, and forecasting across the fintech, telecoms, and IoT sectors. For over 20 years, Juniper Research has delivered actionable insights that help industry leaders navigate disruption, seize opportunities, and make confident strategic decisions. www.juniperresearch.com
Press Contact
Sam Smith, Press Relations
sam.smith@juniperresearch.com
Related Research
For related research please browse our Telecoms & Connectivity section and associated topics:
