SIM card/ShutterStock
A revolution in the cellular market: The Ministry of Communications announced today (Sunday) its intention to oblige cellular companies to offer an eSIM (virtual SIM) service in the coming months.
The move is expected to make it significantly easier for soldiers, evacuees and consumers who suffer from cellphone malfunctions, and will allow them to move more easily between cellphone companies.
The Minister of Communications, Dr. Shlomo Karai, stated that "the entry of an eSIM into the Israeli communications market will make it easier in the current reality for the evacuees and the hundreds of thousands of our soldiers in the reserves to move around easily and without the need for a physical card.
The move is expected to make the packages abroad cheaper for every family, while giving them the option to easily switch to another provider and an affordable package adapted to their ability. This move is a complementary layer to a competitive market also in terms of service quality, and to improving coverage and reception all over the country."
The Director General of the Ministry of Communications, Einval Meshash, added: "In an era where owners of mobile devices are constantly on the move and may experience difficulties with reception or other issues, we must allow them maximum flexibility and access to a virtual SIM, which will no longer require dependence on only one mobile communication provider.
The Shiva events in October and all their consequences are proof of the need to adopt innovation in this field as well."
The eSIM service exists in most mobile devices and is possible in most developed countries.
The ministry intends to act in order to charge the companies for the provision of the service in the coming months.
In the letter, the companies were required to detail whether there are any economic, service or engineering barriers to the provision of the service at the time the firm was contacted.
The eSIM is a small, smart and encrypted chip that you know from your regular SIM card, and actually migrates into the device.
While the normal SIM had to be physically removed from the device, among other things using a dedicated device provided to each user by the manufacturer and must be carefully guarded, here the operation is carried out through the settings themselves.
Activation (or mobility) is by scanning a QR code, so there is no need to wait for the messenger until the physical SIM card arrives and move around.
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