As the world becomes increasingly digitized, telecoms have been forced to do some soul-searching over the last decade. Despite being the infrastructure that holds everything up, over-the-top services, internet messaging, and hyperscalers have all clouded the commercial picture for ‘traditional’ telecoms. Even 5G, on which many had pinned hopes of a telecoms revival, has stuttered.

Telecom APIs – software interfaces that allow developers to easily integrate and leverage telecom services – are also touted as the future of the industry. Telcos have unbeatable infrastructure for connectivity services, but these assets have traditionally been hard for businesses to access. APIs represent the ‘softwarisation’ of telecoms.

As businesses become increasingly digital, APIs allow businesses to easily implement services to support identity and verification, location-based services, guarantee quality coverage on demand, and a whole host of others.

There is some skepticism, however, with many fearing that, like 5G, the hype will outweigh the real impact. In 2025, this will start to clear as the telco API ecosystem takes significant steps toward maturity. Standardization efforts, such as the GSMA’s Open Gateway, will continue to streamline API integration, making it more accessible and viable. Another key development will be the rise of ‘API integrators’—companies with strong ties to operators and established enterprise relationships. These players will act as API marketplaces, providing businesses with a single access point for global connectivity services while giving operators a direct link to enterprise customers.

Although eSIMs were first deployed in the automotive industry in 2014, the consumer market is currently outpacing enterprise IoT in adopting the technology.

There are several factors contributing to this, but the chief one is complexity. Setting up and provisioning eSIMs has traditionally posed a significant barrier to entry for the enterprise. While the consumer market has had standards and specifications for this since 2015, the counterpart for IoT devices is only being launched this year.

The arrival of SGP.32 will standardize IoT eSIM deployments and reshape the role of IoT connectivity providers.

It creates three distinct roles – network operator, reseller, and a brand new entity, the eSIM orchestrator. While companies like BICS have unofficially occupied this role, standardizing this will support the growth of the IoT ecosystem and give businesses more confidence to deploy eSIMs.

This change, set to expand IoT connectivity in 2025, paves the way for growth and innovation in the sector. However, experienced players must continue educating the market and change perceptions. eSIM technology is ready to support businesses in 2025 – but are businesses ready to embrace eSIM?

2024 was the year ‘travel eSIM’ offerings first hit the market. These enable consumers with eSIM-enabled smartphones to purchase connectivity for practically any country in the world, often providing a cheaper alternative to international roaming charges.

While this type of service is in its early stages, it is set to truly take off this year as consumer awareness of travel eSIM and access to eSIM-enabled smartphones increases.

Aside from its benefit to consumers, the most significant factor with travel eSIM is how easy it is for businesses to launch. Since they don’t require a ‘home network’, practically any consumer brand can offer and sell travel eSIM connectivity without prior telecom experience or infrastructure. This essentially democratizes connectivity and opens the door for a hugely competitive race to capture a share of the market – a race we will see play out in 2025.

Beneath the race between consumer brands and MVNOs lies another competition: travel eSIM enablers, such as BICS and Vodafone, provide the technical foundation that allows these consumer brands to launch their services with ease. While 2024 saw offerings for both services fly out of the gates, 2025 is where we will see certain brands truly start to pull away.