How to stay connected, when you’re apart.

Good Morning my literary friends!

Today I thought I’d share my experiences when it comes to telephones and moving countries.

I know many a traveller before me will say, ‘it was easy, I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ However, in this age of technology I’ve stumbled upon an interesting catch-22.

The eSIM.

At first glance, the eSIM sounds like a great idea. A sim that is electronic only, no need for plastic wastage or unnecessary resources, because it is entirely electronic, yes? No. My assumption of the eSIM was that I could go online and register for one, considering that everything I have read about the sims indicates that there is ‘no wastage’. Sadly, this is not the case. Despite researching several different telcos who offer the eSIM option, there is no way to register for one online. I had hoped to select one before leaving for the UK, to save me the trouble of sorting it out upon my arrival. However, here is the catch. In order to activate an eSIM you have to purchase a physical simcard and convert it to an eSIM (for some providers) or purchase an eSIM card (which is sans-plastic) and activate.

Oh the irony. I know. This planet saving system that requires ‘no plastic chips’ but still requires the user to purchase the entirely useless sim for all of five minutes before disposing of it.

Here is how my experience went:

I spent a good week of spare time researching the eSIM situation from Australia and as far as I could tell, it was not possible to purchase an eSIM online. I either had to own a simcard already and have it converted, or buy a new one and register to use it as an eSIM. I arrived in London a few days earlier than planned and therefore had some time to galavant around the city in search of a telco to assist me in this endeavour.

Stay tuned!

x A