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Comment by arepublicadoceu | Hacker News Reader

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I feel that this is a first step to a complete power grab over telecoms from the phone manufactures.

1. Step one: Force everyone to use eSim

2. Step two: Bundle a internet plan through Apple One or whatever Google offers.

3. Step three: Move further to a world where all our entertainment and access to services goes through two players: Apple and Google.

I'm pretty sure in 10 years telecoms will be the next industry to be completely disrupted by FAANG companies.

Just think of how many services that 10 years ago was prohibitively expensive are now extremely cheap:

1. 10~15 years ago, long distances calls used to cost an arm and a leg.

2. SMS was still paid by message sent (in my country at least)

3. Even local calls was expensive.

I had to pay 10x in my local currency to "not" have what I now pay 1x.

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I, for one, would ditch telecoms in a heartbeat if this were a thing.

Why?

> VZ Msg: Introducing Verizon Custom Experience. VZ content & offers are more relevant using web browsing & app usage info. For info or to opt-out: m.vzw.com/CE

Received this earlier this month. Verizon and others can go fuck themselves.

The perma-cookie was also VZ.

This is most definitely part of it. Google dipped its toes into the ISP world with Google Fiber and made a big splash. Now Apple is starting to feel confident they can deploy their own phone service. They can just deploy their service using current infrastructure (already happens a lot in Europe with low-cost ISPs). And they have such weight that they will eventually force ISPs to do their bidding, lest Apple leaves them. You wouldn't want to be the network where iPhones are not supported.

You're misinterpreting what eSIMs are if you think they provide a new way to connect to the network, they don't. They are simply a new sim form factor, so step two in your analysis is unrealistic as the mobile equipment is still owned by mobile operators. There's literally no difference with current sim other than the sim being embedded in the device and the users being allowed to install multiple profiles on it.

I don’t think they were assuming eSIMs provide a new type of connectivity. I think they were referring to the fact that these embedded SIMs are more integrated into the device and therefore physically agnostic to the mobile operator of choice. This would make switching from e.g. Verizon to Apple like switching from from Netflix to Disney+ – much easier since it’s fully software-based. For Apple that would be easy to bundle with the rest of their services. Yet another thing that will retain customers in their ecosystem.

Disclaimer: I've been working in the eSIM ecosystem for the past 3 years.

The integration in the device doesn't really mean the device manufacturer has more control on the sim, far from it. The integration is limited to the interface needed to download/enable/disable profiles, what's referred to as an LPA (local profile assistant). Still OP is misinterpreting that this somehow gives the ability to device manufacturer, which are not network providers, to somehow be able to now step into the telco space. The reality is far from it and Apple cannot provide such service. What they do on the field though, is market devices are easier to use and follow up with mobile operators so that the integration is seamless.

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