Lao Telecom launches country’s first electronic SIM card service

VIENTIANE, Nov 24, 2019, The Laotian Times. Lao Telecom has launched the country’s first eSIM activation service by teaming up with 10T Tech, an eSIM Solutions Company based in Hong Kong, The Laotian Times reported.

The new service allows Lao smartphone owners with the latest Apple iPhones and iPads and Google Pixel 3a and 4 devices to sign up for Lao Telecom’s pre and post-paid mobile plans by visiting their local service center to download and activate the eSIM profile, according to a statement by 10T Tech.

The term “eSIM” refers to an embedded SIM card. There are no physical SIM cards involved and no physical swapping over required. It is a small chip inside a phone and works in a similar way to the NFC chip that’s used for payment technologies such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

eSIM needs to be supported by the network or carrier and enabled by them, while not all networks support eSIM as yet.

Apple has turned to eSIM for the iPad Pro, Apple Watch Series 3 and Watch Series 4 and Series 5 as well as dual SIM support for the iPhone XS and XS Max and iPhone XR as well as the new iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.

Google’s Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL and new Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL do as well.

Lao Telecom’s move came after the company announced in October that it began trialing its 5G system, becoming the first player in Laos to do so.

Lao Telecom is the first integrated telecommunications provider in Laos. Since 1996, the company has offered wire-line and wireless services to 3.5 million people across the country.

In 2011, the company officially launched 4G network, becoming the first company to provide the system in the country and the second nation to do so in Southeast Asia.

The company also began operating 4.5G services in Vientiane at the beginning of 2017 and then expanded services to the provinces.