Embedded SIMs have been a long time coming in smart phones and even now remain confined to the fringes, with the partial exception of the USA. Apple and to a lesser extent Google through Android have led the charge, with a major milestone coming almost exactly a year ago on September 16th, 2022, when the iPhone 14 was launched as an eSIM-only device in the USA. This has led to rapid adoption of eSIM technology there, after all the major operators had prepared the ground thoroughly by ensuring their services supported it cleanly. Elsewhere though, it is a different story, with patchy support for eSIMs and none at all in China for reasons associated with the country’s mobile payments systems,…