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Why Travel eSIM is a Growth Opportunity for MNOs
Travelers still want to buy from you, if you’re there
Travel connectivity has become one of the fastest-growing opportunities in mobile, and operators start from a position most providers would envy. When travelers decide where to buy their eSIM, mobile operators remain their preferred provider.
The trust is already yours. The relationship is already yours. The prize is substantial, too.
Spending on travel eSIMs is climbing fast, with average spend per trip rising 20% year over year. Travelers aren't turning away from paying for connectivity; they're actively spending more on it.
But the purchase moment is moving
Customer expectations have evolved faster than many operators' digital travel offerings. Today's travelers want to browse plans, buy instantly, and activate before they've reached the terminal. And when operators can't meet them there, third-party providers do. Every purchase other provider win; takes revenue, engagement, and valuable customer insight outside your ecosystem.
Traditional roaming alone can’t close the gap. Worldwide statistics show that 39% of postpaid and 80% of prepaid travelers are now "silent roamers", switching off mobile data abroad in favor of travel eSIMs or Wi-Fi. It's tempting to read that as a cost problem; surprise charges and pricey packages certainly push people away, but the spending figures tell a different story. Travelers aren't averse to paying. They just want a more transparent, flexible, and convenient way to buy.
So while operators still own the primary mobile relationship, they no longer automatically own the travel connectivity purchase. But here’s the good news. Everything needed to reclaim it: trusted brand, engaged customers, digital channels, connectivity expertise, and operational scale, is already in place. What's missing is a modern travel eSIM experience to match.
Why Operators Are Better Positioned Than They Think
You’ve spent years building what they’re still trying to buy
Every year, operators invest millions acquiring subscribers, building trust, and encouraging customers to download their app, create an account, and store payment details. They already have the engaged customer base most travel eSIM providers are still working to build.
How Operators Can Reach Travelers at the Right Moment
The advantage you have that no third-party provider can buy
Specialist providers spend heavily to find travelers at the right moment. Operators already know when that moment is coming. Roaming history, past destinations, and seasonal patterns all signal when a customer is likely to travel again, giving operators a head start that no other specialist provider has.
Yet many operators engage travelers only after they've arrived abroad, via roaming alerts or usage notifications. By that point, the purchasing decision has often already been made. Roaming attitudes may lead operators to think that winning the travel eSIM market is solely about being the cheapest provider. The bigger opportunity is to compete on timing and relevance, reaching customers with the right offer before they start looking elsewhere.
The engagement checklist: six moments to own
Use existing customer data and channels to show up at each of these decision points:
- Pre-travel CRM campaigns. Reach customers with destination-relevant offers as any known travel season approaches.
- In-app, at the browsing stage. Surface plans while customers are actively preparing to travel. (How do you handle this integration between your app and the browsing of travel related information?)
- At the airport. Trigger location-based messaging the moment they arrive at the terminal.
- Through loyalty and premium tiers. Bundle travel connectivity into the benefits customers already value.
- Across family, multi-trip, and secondary-device needs. Capture the whole household, not just the primary line.
- During the trip, via top-up and renewal journeys. Stay present after the first purchase, not just before it.
Every moment you own is a purchase a third-party provider doesn't win, and a customer who stays inside your ecosystem for the whole journey.
What Travelers Expect from a Travel eSIM Experience
The game has changed from provider vs. provider to experience vs. experience
If operators want to reclaim the purchase moment, the buying experience must match modern traveler expectations. And expectations are the real barrier. When asked about barriers to eSIM adoption, industry respondents pointed to a lack of awareness (55%), concerns about adopting new technology (39%), and a complicated activation process (35%). The most successful travel eSIM experiences remove friction at every stage of the journey.
1. Discovery should feel effortless
Customers don’t want to search through complex roaming pages or compare multiple tariffs. Instead, they want to:
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Confirm device eligibility instantly
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Compare destinations and plans clearly
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Browse flexible bundles for different trip types
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Understand pricing before they purchase
2. Purchasing should take minutes
Today's travelers expect to purchase connectivity just as easily as they book flights or accommodation. That means:
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Completing a purchase in minutes
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Activating instantly
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Buying through the operator's existing app or website
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Following a simple guided installation process
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Receiving automated confirmation and troubleshooting
3. The journey shouldn't end after activation
Customers want to manage their connectivity independently while they travel. A modern offering should provide:
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Automated provisioning.
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Self-service plan management.
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Easy top-ups and renewals.
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Clear communication about when plans begin and end.
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Accessible customer support throughout the trip.
Deliver all three, and a seamless travel eSIM experience creates new opportunities to engage existing subscribers across the whole travel lifecycle, increasing both the value of each trip and the long-term value of every customer relationship.
How Travel eSIM Drives Revenue Across the Customer Journey
From a one-off roaming charge to an ongoing engagement journey
Delivering a modern travel eSIM experience is about transforming travel from a one-off roaming interaction into an ongoing digital engagement journey. Every stage of that journey presents an opportunity to create additional value for both the customer and the operator.
Before a customer travels, operators can recommend destination-specific plans.
During the trip, they can offer top-ups, additional data, or connectivity for secondary devices.
After the journey, they can encourage repeat purchases through personalized offers and loyalty programs.
This creates benefits that extend well beyond the initial travel eSIM purchase:
From Opportunity to Execution: Managed eSIM Platforms
You have every advantage but one
Operators already have the customer relationships, trusted brands, and digital channels needed to compete. They know where the purchase moment happens, understand what travelers expect, and have compelling commercial reasons to invest.
So why hasn’t every operator launched a market-leading travel eSIM offering?
The answer is execution. Launching a travel eSIM service often requires new integrations, provisioning capabilities, partner relationships, digital customer journeys, and ongoing operational management.
The Future Belongs to
Experience-Led Operators
Think of travel eSIM less as a product and more as a new way
customers expect to connect.
Travel eSIM is often viewed as just another product to add to an operator's portfolio. In reality, it represents something much bigger. It’s a shift in how customers expect to discover, purchase, and manage connectivity.
Connectivity is now a part of the digital travel journey, meaning it has to be as fast, transparent, and convenient as booking a flight, reserving accommodation, or arranging transport. The operator that delivers connectivity as seamlessly as other parts of the travel experience will not only win more travel eSIM purchases but also strengthen its position as the customer's preferred connectivity provider. That’s why the opportunity extends far beyond roaming revenue.
And the market has already validated this opportunity. Millions of travelers are actively purchasing travel eSIMs, underscoring strong demand for flexible, digital-first connectivity. The remaining question is whether operators will be the providers travelers turn to.
It isn’t a game of the largest networks or the lowest prices. Those who succeed will be the operators that combine the trust they've already earned with the digital experiences customers increasingly expect, meeting travelers at the right moment with the right offering, through the channels they already use.
Travel eSIM is setting a new benchmark for how connectivity will be bought, delivered, and experienced in the years ahead.
Choosing the Right Connectivity Partner
Telna turns complexity into a single relationship
Building the technology is only one part of creating a successful travel eSIM proposition. Operators also need to bring that proposition to market, drive adoption, manage customer relationships, and support travelers throughout their journey.
Telna simplifies that complexity.
As a global connectivity partner, Telna supports both sides of that equation. Alongside the connectivity and eSIM management capabilities that power the service, operators can access the customer-facing and go-to-market capabilities needed to turn infrastructure into a complete travel eSIM proposition.
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A branded app and white-label webstore for taking the proposition directly to customers
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CRM capabilities and marketing support for driving adoption
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Customer support that helps maintain the relationship throughout the travel journey
Behind the experience, Telna provides the connectivity foundation, APIs, automated provisioning, lifecycle management, and operational capabilities required to deliver the service on a scale.
Whether you’re scaling an established digital proposition with Connect or bringing a new travel eSIM offering to market with Connect Flex, Telna is ready to be your travel connectivity partner. Schedule a call to explore how Telna can help turn your existing customer relationships into a scalable travel eSIM opportunity.
Sources:
1. The Travel eSIM Webinar 2026: Owning the Connected Traveler Economy2. The Travel eSIM Webinar 2025: A Catalyst for Digital Transformation in Borderless Connectivity
3. Mobile World Live: eSIM Survey Report 2026
4. GSMA Intelligence: Global Mobile Trends 2025
Frequently Asked Questions
Operators already hold the advantages specialist providers spend heavily to build: millions of existing customers, a trusted brand, established apps and billing relationships, and rich CRM data.
The way to compete isn't lower prices, it's a better experience at the moment customers decide. That means letting travelers browse, buy, and activate a travel plan in minutes through the operator's own app or website, then staying present with top-ups and renewals throughout the trip.
The gap is real: GSMA data shows only 8% of consumers aware of eSIM discovered it through their operator's own commercial activity.
The purchase moment has moved.
Travelers now expect to buy connectivity digitally before they fly, and when operators can't meet them there, specialist providers do. Kaleido Intelligence research found 39% of users describe themselves as "silent" roamers who avoid mobile data abroad, relying on travel eSIMs, local SIMs, or Wi-Fi instead. Every one of those purchases generates revenue, engagement, and customer insights beyond the operator ecosystem.
The revenue is being captured by providers who have built a better digital buying experience.
Travel eSIM turns a one-off roaming charge into an ongoing engagement journey with revenue at every stage.
Before a trip, operators sell destination-specific plans. During it, they offer top-ups, additional data, and connectivity for secondary devices.After it, personalized offers and loyalty rewards drive repeat purchases.
Because operators already know their customers' travel habits, they can do all of this without incurring the cost of acquiring new subscribers, thereby increasing customer lifetime value from their existing base
Not necessarily.
Silent roamers, price-sensitive travelers, and customers purchasing travel eSIMs from a third -party, while providers represent demand that traditional roaming isn't currently capturing.
A travel eSIM proposition gives operators another way to serve customers in these segments and bring that spend back into their ecosystem, while continuing to offer traditional roaming to customers who prefer it already suits.
The barrier is execution.
According to Mobile World Live's 2026 survey, 45% of operators cite coordination with OEMs, eSIM vendors, and entitlement providers as a key rollout challenge, while 41% struggle with technical integration and 26% need to modernize backend processes.
Building provisioning, API integrations, digital commerce, and lifecycle management in-house is complex and slow, which is why many operators partner with a managed eSIM platform instead.
Beyond basic sales metrics, successful eSIM programs monitor activation rates, data usage patterns, customer retention (repeat purchases for subsequent trips), support ticket volume, and net promoter scores. These indicators provide a comprehensive view of program performance and customer satisfaction.
Yes, Telna allow for seamless top-ups. Customers can purchase additional data through web portals or mobile apps without needing to acquire a new eSIM profile. These top-ups activate immediately, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity.
Travel eSIMs typically offer significantly better value than traditional roaming plans. Additionally, they provide local network speeds rather than the home data breakout and throttled connections often associated with roaming and offer greater transparency in pricing without unexpected charges.