Uswitch launches travel eSIMs to help consumers beat roaming charges abroad

Following years of campaigning for stronger mobile protections for customers, comparison and switching service Uswitch.com is now launching its own travel eSIM offering to help customers beat travel roaming charges when abroad.

Post Brexit, many EU-mandated rules, such as a worldwide data roaming cap of £45, have fallen away. Roaming costs, especially outside of EU destinations, can be as high as £9 for every 1MB of roaming data[2] - equivalent to 14.4 seconds of streaming on Netflix. One in three Brits (32%) say they’ve been stung by these charges before[1].

UK travellers who want to use their phone abroad have had to either rely on their UK roaming plans and data passes - or sign up for a local SIM at the destination, which can often require ID checks or additional documentation.

With increasingly advanced technology in mobile handsets, travel eSIMs (embedded SIMs) are gaining popularity and the USA, UAE, Spain, Italy and Turkey are currently the most in-demand destinations[4].

The new offering comes in partnership with eSIM Go. With Uswitch eSIMs Powered by Breeze, customers can quickly sign-up online and connect to local networks at their destination before they travel, and enjoy being online immediately without the fear of shock bills.

And as they’re available online and entirely digital - mobile users don’t need to visit a phone network store in person, or wait for a physical SIM card to arrive in the post.

What are eSIMs?

A travel eSIM is a digital SIM card (embedded SIM) allowing mobile users to purchase and activate a local mobile plan for their destination country remotely, without having to install a physical plastic SIM.

Most newer smartphones are compatible with eSIM technology, including every iPhone released from 2018 onwards, most Samsung devices released from 2020 onward and all Google phones since the launch of Pixel 3 in 2018[5].

Uswitch.com is now the first major UK comparison website to offer travel eSIMs alongside traditional UK SIM deals, as a longstanding advocate for consumers in support of avoiding international roaming charges[6].

Another advantage is that most phones can hold multiple eSIMs at any one time. Newer iPhones for instance, can hold eight or more, even allowing the user to use two numbers at the same time. This allows travelling Brits to easily transition between different country mobile networks with only a couple of clicks.

eSIMs offer big savings for popular destinations

Research into current provider roaming charges by country suggests that eSIMs offer big savings for popular UK travel destinations.

eSIMs come with several data package options, including 3GB, 5GB, 10GB and more. When compared to roaming charges for Pay As You Go mobile provider offers in the UK, eSIMs come out the clear winner.

A Brit travelling to Morocco, for instance, will find that most mobile network providers charge just over £5 per MB. For a customer without a roaming cap set, spending 10GB could cost £56,166 compared with £17 with a Uswitch eSIM[3].

Even those visiting European countries may still benefit from an eSIM depending on their contract. UK mobile providers charge Pay As You Go roaming fees around 2p per MB for France, Spain and Greece, for instance. A UK customer without EU roaming included in their home package using 10GB of data could see a bill of £214, compared to just £11 with a travel eSIM.

Zacchary Couldrick, CEO and Co-Founder of eSIM Go comments: “The Great British travelling public have had enough. eSIMs offer them a newfound freedom that's cheaper than traditional data roaming and with none of the hassle of finding a local SIM card provider when you arrive.

“Partnering with a UK consumer champion like Uswitch.com is a really exciting opportunity to bring high quality eSIMs to a wider audience in time for the big summer getaway.

“Together we'll be helping holidaymakers and other travellers get their first taste of how easy it is to stay connected abroad, with more time to spend doing what they value most.”

Ernest Doku, telecoms experts at Uswitch comments “After years of campaigning for better roaming protections for consumers - it’s brilliant to be able to finally be able to offer a solution at Uswitch that really can give consumers peace of mind against shock roaming charges. 

“Gone are the days where you’d arrive at the airport and scramble for a local SIM card. eSIMs offer a clear advantage - you can easily switch between different providers, and can change your data or call plans, without having to wait for a new physical SIM to arrive.  

“Travel eSIMs use mobile data only, which is great for messaging and voice apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage and others. Remember, this won’t include regular network calls or send SMS messages, so make sure you confirm any charges with your network provider before you travel. 

“Our partnership with eSIM Go presents a great opportunity to bring eSIM technology to a nationwide audience and enjoy the flexibility and convenience they offer to travellers”. 

Find out more at Uswitch eSIMs.

Chris Thomas

PR Contractor

v-chris.thomas@rvu.co.uk

1. Opinium surveyed a sample of 2,000 UK adults from 15 March 2024 – 19 March 2024. The Netflix data usage is based on the HD web browser information available on the website.

2. One example - iD Mobile charges £9.60 per MB of data in the United Arab Emirates See international roaming for more information. 

3. The table assumes 1) the following links represent the number of visits by Brits to the respective countries to be up to date (source Statistica): USA, Morocco, Spain, UAE, Turkey, France and Italy 2) Cost of 10GB eSIM taken from eSIM Go Breeze 3) the equivalent roaming charge is calculated using the average roaming cost for a Pay As You Go customers (using data from Vodafone, O2, Three, iD Mobile, Tesco Mobile and giffgaff) for each of the respective locations. (1024MB in one Gigabyte (GB))  

4. According to internal data from eSIM Go.

5. eSIMs are available on  the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, the entire iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 range, as well as the iPhone SE (2020) and iPhone SE (2022). Most Samsung devices released from s can support eSIM, including  the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S23 ranges and all premium foldable devices.All Google Pixel phones since the launch of the Google Pixel 3 in 2018 have been able to support eSIM. That includes all models from the Pixel 3, Pixel 4, Pixel 5, Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 line-ups.

6. At the time of writing, the main and larger UK comparison websites - MoneySuperMarket, Compare the Market, PriceRunner, Kelkoo, GoCompare or other RVU brands (including Confused.com) do not currently offer eSIMs. 

About Uswitch 

Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including energy, broadband and mobiles. 

More people go to Uswitch to switch their energy, broadband and mobile than any other site, and we have saved consumers over £2.7 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.

Free mobile app Utrack also helps households manage their home energy usage and make potential savings. 

Uswitch is part of RVU, a group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.