Get Your Mobile Service Up and Running Instantly with eSIM
Technologies in the mobile service industry are constantly evolving. One of the latest innovations in this space is eSIM.
eSIM, or Embedded SIM, is a type of SIM card that is integrated into a device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or wearable. This technology offers several benefits over traditional physical SIM cards, including convenience, flexibility, reduced costs, and improved security. As more and more phone models begin to support eSIM technology, customers are increasingly opting for an eSIM over a traditional physical SIM card.
In an effort to offer the benefits of eSIM technology to its customers, amaysim began providing eSIM support as of 2022. This has given amaysim customers the ability to start using their mobile services straight after signing up.
Here is how it works.
From customer’s point of view
Traditionally the mobile service sign-up process involved the delivery of a physical SIM card, which required a third-party logistics service and often took several days to arrive, with the risk of it being lost or damaged in transit.
However, amaysim customers who choose eSIM are able to receive their SIM card immediately after signing up and can start using their mobile services once the eSIM has been installed on their device.
The eSIM option is now available in amaysim's purchase channels, such as the web funnel and amaysim apps. Customers with eSIM compatible devices can make purchases as usual in these channels and opt for eSIM as their choice.
eSIM purchase via amaysim apps
Upon submitting a new order, two actions will occur in near real-time to allow for immediate use of amaysim's mobile service:
The mobile service will be activated within the service provider's network, and;
An eSIM will be assigned and ready for customers to download to their device.
Customers have two options for downloading their eSIM to their device - either by scanning the eSIM QR code or using the amaysim app. With either method, customers can get started using amaysim service right away!
download eSIM to device via amaysim apps
For further information, please check out amaysim eSIM.
eSIM logistics
Under the hood one cloud native application, eSIM logistics domain, has been developed to support the better user experience by doing all the heavy lifting like loading eSIM stock from the supplier, managing eSIM inventory, allocating eSIMs etc.
Here is one simplified system design of the eSIM logistics domain and how it works.
amaysim orders eSIM profiles from suppliers on a regular basis. The eSIM profiles are then loaded to AWS S3 bucket by amaysim staff, this triggers an AWS lambda to save new eSIMs in an AWS DynamoDB table
another lambda called replenisher will load some of the eSIMs into one SQS. eSIMs will be allocated from this queue instead of DynamoDB to avoid double booking due to race condition and also maintain high throughput
API gateway and lambda dispatcher is the frontend interface to allocate eSIM for orders. Event driven eSIM allocation will be supported in future iterations
Events such as "eSIM dispatched" will be sent to AWS Eventbridge for consumption in other systems within amaysim, such as Data Analysis and Marketing
The eSIM logistics system also utilises AWS cloudwatch to monitor the overall health of the system
eSIM as an enabler
amaysim's offering of eSIM support is not just a new, standalone feature, but has the potential to enhance the overall user experience. After introducing eSIM support, amaysim has announced the ability to replace SIMs with eSIMs, bundle iPhone and mobile services with eSIM, and will release more eSIM-related features in the near future. eSIM technology will allow amaysim to offer even more benefits to its customers, so stay tuned for updates.
The views expressed on this blog post are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer, Optus Administration Pty Ltd
