New data suggests eSIM usage is expected to rise 30% to 1.5 billion devices in 2026, up from 1.2 billion in 2025, but demand isn’t really coming from smartphones and consumer contracts.
The projections of juniper research They say connected logistics, oil and gas and smart street lighting will be the three sectors driving the greatest adoption of eSIM, creating around 75 million new connections to global networks in 2026.
This follows GSMA’s SGP.32 IoT eSIM standard, released in 2025, which enables server-controlled mass activation for easier connections.
The number of eSIMs is increasing, but not from mobile phones
However, the analyst firm is concerned about a major challenge for the future of eSIM: the industry is moving from a pull model, where devices download a profile individually, to a push model, where centralized services provide eSIM to multiple devices at once.
Given this shift in deployment models, Juniper is encouraging eSIM platforms to develop their own push deployment capabilities to meet what appears to be growing enterprise demand for IoT eSIMS.
“For enterprise IoT users, using a pull model to deploy so many devices is inefficient and eSIM platforms must adapt,” explained Ardit Ballhysa, senior research analyst.
Paragraph Investigation Junipers 2024 also predicts a similar rise in iSIMs, which are similar to eSIMs but integrate directly into existing device components, so they do not require a separate SIM module. Thanks to the GSMA’s latest SGP.41/42 specifications to standardize and simplify iSIM implementation, a 1,200% growth was predicted, from 800,000 in 2024 to 10 million in 2026.
iSIMs are used in smart energy meters, remote logistics tools and small devices that require low power consumption.
Additionally, Juniper predicts 210 million iSIM connections by 2028.
“eSIM vendors should ensure they provide standards-agnostic platforms that are flexible for future form factors, standards, and use case requirements,” wrote report author Elisha Sudlow-Poole.
Outside of the area of business eSIM rollout, new figures from CCS Insight also show that consumer demand is also growing, particularly in travel, where a quarter of UK consumers have already used an eSIM to access local plans.
eSIMs are preferred for their convenience and savings benefits, and frustration over looming mobile phone price rises led almost half (45%) of Brits to take advantage of SIM-only deals and extend device upgrade cycles.
Although consumer eSIMs maintain the well-known pull model, it is clear that the demand for non-physical SIM cards is increasing and networks must prepare for it.
