International travellers are increasingly seeking more affordable alternatives to traditional data roaming packages, with demand for travel e-SIM cards expected to surge by roughly one-third this year, posing a significant threat to established mobile network operators.
According to estimates from research firm FDM CCS Insight, global travel e-SIM usage is projected to reach 134 million cards this year, up from 101.8 million in 2025. Consumers can download e-SIMs from a variety of providers, including Airalo, which has raised nearly $300 million from investors such as private equity firm CVC, and Saily, an operator under Nord Security, the developer of NordVPN. These service providers offer data packages tailored to outbound travellers, typically at prices far below the roaming plans offered by users' existing operators.
FDM CCS analyst Joe Gardner said this trend is presenting an increasingly formidable challenge to legacy mobile communications companies, with roaming business accounting for 3% to 5% of their revenue, and this segment typically generating higher profit margins. Gardner added: "How operators respond to this challenge—whether through product innovation, price matching, or enhancing service quality—will determine the extent of revenue erosion risk they face."
Data from market research firm Sensor Tower shows that following 36.4 million downloads in 2025, the top five e-SIM applications have accumulated over 26 million downloads so far this year. Companies such as Revolut and Klarna are also offering e-SIM data packages to their customers. For instance, Revolut offers an e-SIM plan priced at £3.49 for 1GB of data over seven days, while BT Group's EE charges up to £8 for a 24-hour 500MB roaming package.
Researchers at STL Partners estimate that the travel e-SIM market was worth £649 million in 2025 and could grow to £3.2 billion by 2030. The increasing number of smartphones supporting e-SIM technology is driving this market expansion. GSMA, the mobile communications industry association, reports that in 2025, more than 326 phone models, including Apple's iPhone series, supported e-SIM, representing a nearly 50% increase year-on-year.
Vygintas Makevičius, CEO of Saily, noted that rising consumer awareness is benefiting the e-SIM market. "The market has shifted from the user education phase to the user conversion phase, and the conversion speed is accelerating," he said.
The proliferation of travel e-SIMs is intensifying pressure on traditional operators, which are already contending with competition from mobile virtual network operators that can offer full communication services by leasing existing networks without building their own infrastructure. Media reports from May indicated that the UK's three major mobile operators experienced their worst customer churn on record in 2025.
Herman Frank, CEO of Gigs, a communications startup providing the underlying technology for Revolut's and Klarna's mobile operations, stated that e-SIM development has enabled "fully end-to-end digital telecommunications services." He added: "These service providers hold a structural advantage: they avoid high customer acquisition costs while delivering a superior user experience—users simply tap a button within the app to activate the service."