Any news on eSIMs in Ireland?

17-05-2023 6:56pm

Any sign of this happening?

They're doing eSIMs for their GoMoWorld product but nothing else yet.

I don’t know what all the foot dragging is about. There’s a demand for eSIMs, especially for second lines and so on. If they can do the cloning for Apple Watch they’ll have the market cornered until their technically lethargic competition eventually catches up, which let’s face it, with 3 could be a while!

Also, as pointless as voicemail is, I’m sure that fancy new voicemail platform they just rolled out must support Apple visual voicemail. Missing a marketing opportunity…

IdHidden · 17-05-2023 11:09pm

The rumour is that the new iPhone maybe be eSim only in EU countries that have eSim technology available. If true then eir etc will be trying to have it in place by the end of the year.

Eir_Insider · 18-05-2023 2:09am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120607281#Comment_120607281

I can't confirm with GoMo as of yet, but i can confirm about the eir eSIM cards being available on eir this year.

Eir_Insider · 18-05-2023 2:12am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120609263#Comment_120609263

Hi, They are using GoMoWorld as a testbed for eSIM to have the technology just right for the rollout.

18-05-2023 9:08am

Hopefully they get it in the market soon.

wassie · 20-05-2023 1:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120609263#Comment_120609263

I don’t know what all the foot dragging is about. There’s a demand for eSIMs, especially for second lines and so on.

Irish Telcos are typically slow at adopting and rolling out new tech. Probably because our market is relatively small that irish consumers are serviced so poorly.

Esims have been around for years yet only VF have it publically available. It was the same for the 4G & 5G rollouts.

20-05-2023 6:44pm

Irish cellcos are very, very good value for data and calls though! I lived in Belgium and it was way more expensive, despite being a very flat country, easy to serve with signals and with very high density population compared to Ireland.

laoisfan · 22-05-2023 9:48am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120621118#Comment_120621118

Agreed. We get very good value here when compared to what is on offer in other EU countries e.g. Germany, France, Italy, Norway etc etc.

22-05-2023 6:19pm

Absolute cheapest I could find in Belgium was 70GB for €30.00 / month vs 14.99 for 120GB (fair usage policy limit) on Gomo and frankly on a better network in Ireland too. I'm not sure how aggressively Gomo enforces that FUP limit, but a lot of continental networks will throttle you to near dial up speeds when you exceed it.

Free in France is €19.99 for 210GB

wassie · 22-05-2023 8:15pm

Irish networks may appear to be competitive on price, but this is at the expense of network features.

Only need to look across the water at Lycamobile UK who do 5G + esim with 100GB, unlimited calls and 100 international minutes for £10/month for first 6 months. Makes Irish 'good value' look pretty poor in comparison.

1 main carrier here using esim is complete rubbish given this standard has been readily available commercially since 2018.

23-05-2023 8:56am

Compared to the UK and they’re a bit more expensive, but the UK is extremely cheap. Irish operators are pretty good value by EU comparisons.

Glaceon · 23-05-2023 9:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120628853#Comment_120628853

And no Irish network ever implemented the visual voicemail feature of the iPhone either.

23-05-2023 9:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120630126#Comment_120630126

I assume they just couldn't be bothered paying Apple for the software licence for it. Their voicemail systems aren't likely to be radically different from any other network around the world. The vendors are usually quite off-the-shelf.

There's some middleware that sits between the network voicemail and the iCloud's systems and I assume the carriers are charged for it, even though it's probably doing Apple a huge marketing favour...

I use HulloMail on my work phone and it's a HUGE advantage because you get transcriptions of voicemail and don't have to deal with tons of spammy calls.

DopeTech · 29-05-2023 11:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120653069#Comment_120653069

Plenty deals like that going but you won't have an irish number which would be a deal breaker for most. Currently Vodafone is our only option.

31-05-2023 4:54pm

Just checked that Orange Luxembourg plan:

Unlimited Internet up to 250 GB then reduced to 512 Kbit/s

La vitesse de la 5G sera réduite (512Kb/s) après la consommation de 250GB en data nationale et en Europe.

09-06-2023 3:45pm

Any updates on the likely rollout of this on Gomo or Eir?

I've a 2nd sim stuck on VF prepay at the moment, and would really quite like to move it to a better value network.

PH0NER · 24-06-2023 11:33pm

Apparently nobody here has seen the prices of Italian mobile carriers! Very Mobile (Windtre MVNO) is currently charging €7.99 for 300GB + unlimited talk/text & eSIM.

Iliad (Eir's Parent) is charging €9.99 for 150GB, unlimited talk/text and 5G. eSIM is not available on Iliad though.

I really would love for Gomo to offer eSIM in Ireland. I'm surprised Eir still doesn't.

Cork981 · 27-06-2023 8:27am

Going by this it sounds like 3 should be launching eSim this year.

https://www.three.ie/search/?q=esim

19-07-2023 2:27pm

They’re incredibly slow.

eir could steal a march on Vodafone by launching Apple WatchOS compatible sims, but sure why bother …

thayes · 23-07-2023 5:41pm

I contacted comreg, and it would appear all carriers will be offering eSIM this year but it’s not clear what level of IoT support will be offered.

Pity the items like Apple Watch can’t use a completely independent number/plan.

biebiebie · 28-09-2023 7:45am

FYI. eSim is now available with lycamobile.ie

I'd imagine the rest should follow quite soon, by year end anyhow.

listermint · 28-09-2023 9:00am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121167518#Comment_121167518

No mention of ESim on their landing page anywhere

biebiebie · 28-09-2023 9:34am

From a quick google

https://www.lycamobile.ie/en/esim/how-to-order-an-esim

I have it working so it’s already available.

biebiebie · 28-09-2023 9:36am

I have it working so it’s already available.

try https://www.lycamobile.ie/en/esim/how-to-order-an-esim

28-09-2023 12:17pm

I'm amazed at how long this is taking tbh. The technical issues around it are relatively minor.

GoMo on eSIM would be ideal for my use.

Ah-Watch · 28-09-2023 1:25pm

Must have been a glitch on their website because I've been able to activate now using the same payment card as before and same email etc. The actual process of activating esim is very quick and easy and to be honest, probably that bit quicker and hasslefree than Vodafones one because of Vodafones horrendous systems. Getting fast enough 4G on it and was worth a try for 7.50

biebiebie · 28-09-2023 3:04pm

Well they’re all working towards offering eSim by year end, according to Comreg anyhow.

timefora_J · 04-10-2023 2:20pm

According to this thread Three have made eSIM available today, no support for Apple Watches at launch but it's coming supposedly

https://community.three.ie/t5/Ideas-Board/ESIM-Rollout/idi-p/772040/page/29

https://community.three.ie/t5/3MadeEasy/All-About-eSIM/ba-p/786044

pizzahead77 · 04-10-2023 4:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193525#Comment_121193525

Existing customers apparently have to go to a store to get switched over to an eSIM currently but a couple of peopel have said they managed to get it sorted on the phone to customer support.

martco · 04-10-2023 4:29pm

I read up on this subject a while back and one whitepaper in particular laid it out very well (think was one by pwc)

gist in the paper around virtualised sims anyway was that it could lead to a deliberate slow bicycle race amongst operators in certain markets because it would lead to improved options providing the conditions for customers to escape (or even think about escaping) their clutch€s....aka promoting competition...a horrid new world necessating innovative personalised higher grade of customer experience to attract their customers and more dyamic pricing VS the current approach of tricky hardwired bundles and contracts to squeeze them and nail 'em to their floor kinda thing....in other words the advent of esims are a potential threat and disruptor in certain market settings

not sure if that's the reason but based on the lack of competition in other areas in an economy like ours it rang true for me at the time

wassie · 04-10-2023 9:24pm

100% thats the reason. Irish telcos have always been years behind when it comes to rolling out network features that benefit customers.

For example VoLTE, Wifi Calling and esim have been around in other markets for years before we got them.

timefora_J · 06-10-2023 8:17pm

Maybe EIR will surprise us all and launch eSIM for Phones & Apple Watch before anyone else......

Cork981 · 06-10-2023 8:54pm

I’m surprised Eir are so slow at launching eSIM. They were pretty fast (Relative to the Irish telecoms industry) launching WiFi calling and 5G and launched VoLTE years before Three.

The appear to be testing this using GomoWorld which is essentially an Eir eSIM without a number.

07-10-2023 7:08pm

It's surprising alright that they're taking so long. Their sister networks, Free.fr and Salt.ch and Iliad.it all support it.

Salt even used Go-Mo.ch as a brand, just reusing all the Irish advertising btw.

lordsheepface · 07-10-2023 8:13pm

Lyca esims seem to be gone off their website. As are vodafone.

Despite being able to get both last week.

Three process for esim seems easy enough and hassle free online.

Blazer · 07-10-2023 8:19pm

Vodafone now support it on wearables but its currently locked to the top end Samsung watches...

Apple always take a bit longer to onboard due to their power over telcos but seriously VF need to hurry the **** up...

lordsheepface · 07-10-2023 8:21pm

VF support wearables but at stupid billpay prices only.

Tech_Head · 08-10-2023 8:41am

Vodafone’s implementation of eSIM is a joke. I had to move my eSIM to a new phone. Nobody could help, their system was “down”, was told to go to two different stores - neither of which could help.

Had to get a physical SIM delivered, activate that, delete the eSIM, then order a new one and activate it.

DopeTech · 08-10-2023 9:50am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208270#Comment_121208270

When did you have that issue? I thought they had sorted their issues. I was able to move sim to another phone without any issues through their site about 2 months ago.

Tech_Head · 08-10-2023 1:56pm

This week. I was able to do it fine before too. It appears to me that they are still working on eSIM. Sometimes the option to request an eSIM is there, sometimes it isn’t. This time I had to move to physical and then move to eSIM before the option would appear.

Response from both Vodafone’s stores were:

Does anyone know how to transfer an eSIM? With the guy then telling me I didn’t actually have an eSIM despite it being active and usable.
That’s weird, I’ve not seen this before.

GhostyMcGhost · 08-10-2023 2:04pm

I got one via Revolut offer of €10 a month for 12 months

using it to test between coverage of GoMo and Lyca, GoMo want €15 for 5G and GoMo signal is a bit crap in my area

its great having the 2 SIM cards

08-10-2023 4:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121208270#Comment_121208270

The QR code is still buried in your my Vodafone account. I just stored a copy of for future reference. Seems to work fine once you’ve the QR and PIN you can install it on any device.

Tech_Head · 08-10-2023 6:27pm

I did try that too but it said it was invalid. It may have been a system issue at the time. The most I could get was one chat rep saying any existing ones need to be deactivated prior to the move.

caesar · 09-10-2023 12:42pm

I picked up an Apple Watch Ultra 1 the other week and didn't even realise Ireland's support for eSim wasn't there yet.

The whole point of me getting the watch was so that I could leave the phone at home. I spotted the mention of Lyca eSim in this thread the other week so that gave me some hope.

I was about to switch over to them from 48 but wondering if there is any point yet.

Is anyone using Lyca eSim with an Ultra? (or any eSim for that matter).

I see with Three eSim isn't available for wearables yet, but is that the case with others like Lyca? Vodafone is still Samsung only right?

Are there any options? or are we left waiting.

Tech_Head · 09-10-2023 5:00pm

@caesar Left waiting. I believe there are some EU ones that will work BUT your watch will have its own number which defeats the point, for me at least.

The Apple Watch Ultra for Ireland makes no reference to cellular connectivity either, just GPS and WiFi. Does yours have the cellular option in the menu? Settings -> Mobile Service.

timefora_J · 09-10-2023 9:29pm

Lyca don’t support eSIM on wearables currently. I jumped the gun and signed up for an account the moment I heard they had eSIM available but alas only for phones.

Three Ireland have mentioned 2024 for wearables.

Vodafone only support some Samsung wearables at the mo.

Eir are yet to make any move towards supporting eSIM.

We’re getting closer but it’s taking a bloody age.