The latest drama in the long-running saga of the eSIM is an antitrust probe by US authorities into AT&T and Verizon. Accusations, reported to have been initiated by Apple, claim that the two US operators colluded with the GSMA (which represents MNOs worldwide) to force the market to adopt their preferred format for the eSIM (embedded or electronic SIM), thus strengthening their hand against the device/app providers in the battle to control the primary relationship with the mobile user. The GSMA has been making progress towards eSIM specifications which are largely friendly to the interests of its MNO members in recent years, despite periodic efforts by Apple and others to drive the standards themselves. Pending the outcome of the investigation,…