How JOYTEL tapped the eSIM Travel Market with Simlessly's flagship product RSP-as-a-Service

Challenges

JOYTEL's business is primarily focused on the international Travel SIM and Cross-Border IoT market. Although traditional physical SIM cards continue to account for the majority, eSIM has been trending unstoppably and rapidly due to the influence of eSIM iPhone models. Post-COVID, the global overseas travel market has continued to recover, particularly in the APAC region, with real growth in orders pouring in daily. JOYTEL needed to adapt fast to plan for the future and better serve all international travel users. That is, to bring its current Physical SIM products into eSIM-compatible services for its growing consumer needs. This was one of the most pressing business development concerns for them. They were needed to attract more consumers while not passing up the opportunity.

JOYTEL promptly initiated market research, exploring online and offline consultation, including visits to industry circles, in search of eSIM services and solutions from numerous sources. And after a summary analysis, they discovered the following issues and pain points.

The most critical challenge was finding a GSMA-certified RSP technical service provider capable of assisting eSIM mobile phone users in downloading the eSIM Profile while hosting JOYTEL's Profile and generating an eSIM QR code. Traditional RSP service providers in the market are generally physical SIM providers, such as Thales, G+D, IDMIEA, Truphone and Valid that primarily target Tier-1 Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than MVNOs that focus on the travel SIM market.

1. The process was complicated, the speed too slow, and it'd take several months which could've delayed the opportunity to serve a good portion of the market.
2. The available pricing models were unreasonable. Particularly the upfront setup fee, annual maintenance fee, yearly transactions commitment and sizeable initial investment. JOYTEL's costs could've risen as a result. Also, it may have easily become excessively reliant on a single provider.
3. Lack of customer support and focus by the traditional service providers.
   1. Customer support was lacking from these service providers since they prioritized serving large MNOs over small & medium customers such as MVNOs. They could only tackle technical problems that were exclusive to the RSP platform. Issues with eSIMs and consumer devices were avoided. Also, a realistic and persuasive tracking analysis isn't available with the existing RSP providers.
   2. The MVNO's overall success in the Cross-Border Connectivity business, let alone operational understanding and know-how of Travel SIM company operations, is not regarded as a service goal.
4. Profile configuration and other product functionalities are complex, stiff, or even dogmatic, and can't be changed or adjusted flexibly. Functional update iteration is slow, and product design for larger MNOs can't be adapted to the simple, flexible, and convenient use cases of MVNOs.

There is no escape from the mountains and rivers, yet every cloud has a silver lining. JOYTEL discovered Simlessly through the recommendation of industry peers and did solution consultancy and product testing. Surprisingly, all of these problems were quickly fixed.

Resolutions

1. Simlessly provided 2 weeks free trial and assisted JOYTEL in completing profile host, template configuration and product use training fast. JOYTEL finished all preparations for the eSIM launch in just 15 days. This allowed it to respond to market demands faster.
2. Simlessly doesn't charge an initial setup fee or an annual maintenance fee, and it doesn't price based on the hosts' profile. It adopts an innovative subscription model that's billed monthly or yearly based on the actual number of successful profile downloads. JOYTEL found it easier to decide and start immediately, which helped them to adjust the subscription plan flexibly based on subsequent business growth, i.e., pay-as-you-grow. The download charges also corresponded to JOYTEL's actual customer order revenue, which aligned with customers' business objectives.
3. SIMlessly constantly focuses on customer success, providing the customer with technical support and the appropriate tools for their business needs.
   1. Simlessly is more focused on offering SaaS products and standard SLA services to MVNOs and small & medium-sized clients rather than large-scale MNOs. It can respond to and support customers quickly via online chat/email/phone or an exclusive customer success manager. It not only has RSP technical knowledge, but it's also skilled in eSIM OS and Applet R&D, including iPhone/Android and other technological aspects linked to mobile devices, particularly concerning cellular traffic operations.
   2. It could also give JOYTEL with analytics dashboard and faster resolution of end-to-end eSIM download technical issues, enhance profile download success rates, and reduce customer complaints. Simultaneously, according to JOYTEL's requirements, an innovative cooperation development based on an applet to provide Value Added Services is successfully achieved. This improves JOYTEL's product usage ratio, lowering overall operating costs, and increasing gross profit.
4. Simlessly offers simple visual configuration and real-time templates that can be copied and saved. Up to 50 network parameters, including OPLMN/FPLMN, can be specified, with a preference for the desired network parameters. Travel SIM typically supports single-country or multi-country and multi-regional packages in hundreds of countries/regions worldwide. However, not all have local resources. When using roaming resources in different countries and regions, internet speed and login process have a significant impact on user experience and traffic. The cost of flexible optimum network control is high. Furthermore, because JOYTEL has many channels and local agents and primarily uses the distribution model, they are generally apprehensive about the brand image. To eliminate this uncertainty, Simlessly could offer agnostic customisation of the RSP domain name. Many product criteria and features are primarily unchangeable for traditional RSP service providers, but not for Simlessly. It offers flexible configurations for quick deployment.

Conclusion

The upswing trend of eSIM user awareness is unstoppable. Especially, when it comes to achieving the commercial success and growth of MVNOs and communication service providers focused on the cross-border Travel SIM market. Supporting the eSIM user market entails more than merely locating an RSP technology service provider who can transform the profile into an eSIM QR code. One should also look for a company that'd support as a partner, to provide professional, innovative, and comprehensive product functions, technical support, and customer services based on customer success and a strong grasp of Travel SIM applications and MVNO operation scenarios.

Simlessly is not only a RSP (SM-DP+) Platform provider, but it is also a reliable partner. They back their customers to achieve a successful business plan and are always present to help their customers to remove all barriers on their way to deploying eSIM seamlessly.

Hongwu Lu

CTO, JOYTEL

Simlessly's flagship product, RSP-as-a-Service, provides JOYTEL with an easy-to-use and quick-launch subscription model based on successful eSIM download and billing. Simultaneously, it provides flexible configuration templates of an eSIM profile creation based on the actual business scenario of the client's Travel SIM business, appropriate network, VAS Applet and other advanced capabilities with the goal of customer success. These aided JOYTEL in promptly capturing market possibilities, improving customer satisfaction and user experience, lowering operating expenses, and increasing gross profit, all of which contributed to JOYTEL's business growth and commercial success. JOYTEL eSIM services are currently benefiting more eSIM mobile phone users at a compound monthly growth rate of more than 30%.

Ready to explore what Simlessly can do for you? Sign up for free today.