SIM LOCAL PARTNERS WITH INMOTION TO PROVIDE LOCAL SIM CARDS ACROSS THE US 13 Jan 2021, London, UK: Sim Local has partnered with the United States’ largest airport-based electronics retailer, InMotion, to sell local SIM cards in 125 stores across the country. The new agreement will see Sim Local provide a choice of SIM cards and plan options to international travellers looking to stay seamlessly connected while abroad, without incurring additional roaming charges. In its first deal in North America, Sim Local, the largest seller of SIM cards in the UK travel market, will offer its products in InMotion stores from January 2021. Travellers will be able to purchase SIM cards through free standing displays and countertop units, with all InMotion staff receiving detailed training to support customers to make informed choices. The partnership will allow Sim Local to reach a new international audience thanks to InMotion’s unrivalled [...]

SIM LOCAL MOVED UP EIGHT PLACES FROM 27TH PLACE IN 2019, AS A RESULT OF SUBSTANTIAL BUSINESS GROWTHUK, 17th December 2020: Today, Sim Local announces that it ranked 19th in the 2020 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards, a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in Ireland. Rankings are based on average percentage revenue growth over four years.Killian Whelan, CEO and Founder of Sim Local comments: “We are delighted to climb up the rankings from 27th to 19th in this year’s Deloitte Technology Fast 50. With retail presence in large airports throughout the UK and globally, our mission is to empower intercontinental travellers at every point of their journey, allowing them to connect globally while only paying local network rates.”“This year, as our business evolves, we launched the UNITE platform, a powerful and cost-effective eSIM solution for mobile operators across the world. We are passionate about embracing digital [...]

From programming an early Apple to gaining an MBA while having her first child, Julie Gibb, chief technology officer at Sim Local has clearly had a challenging yet rewarding career. But she says the bottom line is be ready to try new things. To read the in-depth snapshot, click here.

We interviewed Julie Gibb, Chief Technology Officer at Sim Local on her thoughts and experiences about women in tech. To read the in-depth Q&A with Julie, click here.

It wasn’t too long ago that if you wanted to listen to your favourite artist’s new album, you had to pop into town and buy physical media (CDs or cassette tapes). That seems almost archaic today – now we can listen to just about any song we want in seconds simply by digitally downloading it. Well, the very same thing is about to happen to the SIM cardClick here to read the full article from Direct Mobiles click here.

Sim Local, one of the largest providers of mobile sims in the travel sector, is targeting outbound passengers with the opening of a new departures store at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. The store will be located in Satellite B (post-security) at the gates and will open in the first quarter of 2021. To read more click here.

Julie joined Sim Local as Chief Technology Officer in 2017, at a pivotal point in the company’s technology journey. She leads a team responsible for the technology services that underpin Sim Local’s retail business and retail channels across the globe. Julie has played a crucial role in the development of the next generation UNITE platform, which leverages Sim Local’s retail business insights and cloud services to offer a digital eSIM technology solution for various enterprises. To read the in-depth Q&A with Julie, click here.

Simply put, an eSIM is an electronic SIM that is designed to supersede the physical SIM card that has slotted into phones and smartphones for decades. Unlike existing SIM cards, though, an eSIM is embedded into the device itself and cannot be removed and put in another phone or tablet. We caught up with Gary Waite, Head of eSIM Strategy at Sim Local who believes it's only a matter of time before eSIMs become the norm. To read the full article click here

Lycamobile SIM cards now available at WHSmith Travel locations at six key British airports Travellers can buy and activate Lycamobile plans at the airport within seconds [London] [19 Oct 2020]: Lycamobile, the world’s largest mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) and part of the multinational Lyca Group, is proud to announce that it has partnered with Sim Local and WHSmith to help international travellers access high-quality mobile plans at airports across the UK, including: London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Luton, Birmingham and Manchester Connectivity for international travellers is more essential than ever before. The new partnership will ensure that every customer has access to the best mobile plans and services the moment they land, without disruption to travel plans. Through Sim Local’s innovative technology platform UNITE, Lycamobile’s customers can buy, activate and directly top up SIM cards at the point of sale, in a matter of seconds – [...]

Dodging the dockyard, Waite aligned with people first and found business usually follows   Career openings in computer software were non-existent when Gary Waite, Head of eSIM Strategy at Sim Local, started job hunting. He’s since travelled the world and learned to get to know people’s objective then find a way to work together. To read the full interview with Gary, click here

Sim Local has appointed long-standing industry expert, Marcus Sly, as its Head of eSIM Business Development. Marcus, who joins Sim Local on 28th September, brings extensive knowledge and experience of the telecommunications sector, having worked in the industry for over 23 years. Prior to joining Sim Local, Marcus was Sales Director at IDEMIA and Giesecke & Devrient, where he supplied SIM cards and SIM based solutions from Tier One to Tier Four MNO and MVNOs worldwide. Throughout his career, Marcus has been at the forefront of the technology development and supply in 5G, eSIM Consumer and IoT. Marcus started his career in the Royal Navy, were he served as an Engineering Officer specialising in Communications, Radar and Sonar systems. Killian Whelan, Founder and CEO at Sim Local, commented: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Marcus to Sim Local. With over 20 years’ experience in the sector, he brings a [...]

Sim Local has officially launched its ‘UNITE’ eSIM platform providing all the core capability a mobile operator needs to be able to offer eSIM services to their customers. Working directly with operators and indirect partners worldwide, UNITE allows customers of those operators to purchase, activate, download and install eSIM subscriptions onto their mobile devices. An associated low CapEx and Pay As You Grow commercial model makes it an easy decision for operators to buy from Sim Local rather than building eSIM capability themselves. To read the full article from Total Telcom, click here.

07 September 2020, London, UK: Today, Sim Local is reopening its retail store in arrivals at Terminal 2 Heathrow Airport, London. Having closed its retail store doors in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this is an important milestone for the business and coincides with the business reintroducing representatives to assist partner sales in WHSmith. Sim Local is one of the world’s largest prepaid local SIM providers to intercontinental travellers, offering a range of plan options enabling them to stay seamlessly connected whilst abroad. Andrew McClellan, Chief Business Development Officer at Sim Local, comments: “We are delighted to be re-opening our T2 store at Heathrow Airport today, after being closed for nearly six months. This is a hugely positive step for our retail business and the wider outlook for the retail and travel market, as international travel begins to pick back up again. We are introducing screens, [...]

Digital SIMs Make Phones Waterproof The Times, 25 August 2020 Smartphones could soon be waterproof as the need for physical SIM cards disappears, experts believe. One of the greatest obstacles in making phones waterproof has been protecting the holes in SIM-card trays. But tech giants such as Apple, Samsung and Google are making sure their new models work with digital SIM cards, which are simply downloaded on to the phone. Gary Waite, of Sim Local, which provides prepaid local SIM cards to international travellers, said phones would soon come without a tray. This will also help to ensure they are waterproof. “The holes like the one for the speaker can all be made waterproof quite easily,” he said. “But the SIM tray is a real problem as if you get water in there, that’s really bad news.” Digital SIM cards will also allow people travelling abroad [...]

A POWERFUL AND COST-EFFECTIVE eSIM SOLUTION FOR MOBILE OPERATORS London UK, 17th August 2020: This month, Sim Local has officially launched its ‘UNITE’ eSIM platform providing all the core capability a mobile operator needs to be able to offer eSIM services to their customers. Working directly with operators and indirect partners worldwide, UNITE allows customers of those operators to purchase, activate, download and install eSIM subscriptions onto their mobile devices. An associated low CapEx and Pay As You Grow commercial model makes it an easy decision for operators to buy from Sim Local rather than building eSIM capability themselves. The GSMA predicts that by 2025, 35% of all smartphone network connections will be made using eSIM technology.  Even in two years’ time, 10% of those connections will be via eSIM. This shift – moving from a physical SIM card to a digital eSIM download – is [...]

Mobile News, August 2020 eSIM is the future of mobile according to SIM Local head of eSIM strategy Gary Waite  eSIM is already revolutionising mobile. It has made connecting everyday mobile devices much easier and quicker. It has enabled new smaller device categories, such as smart-watches and fitness trackers. It has opened avenues of universal connectivity for laptops and has raised the bar on the potential for IoT. But what is really exciting about eSIM is that it unshackles mobile network operators (MNO’s) from their traditional national boundaries, allowing them to provide services far beyond that, and leverage their brands on a global scale. Thanks to sponsorship of major sporting teams, events and ubiquitous exposure on international media, MNOs are already among the most visible brands in the world today. However, even the largest MNOs have a customer-base limited to no more than a dozen countries of operation, whereas [...]

Vanilla Plus, July 2020 The GSMA and Mobile World Live’s ‘Moving to a Future Software World’ Week, which was held from 13th to 17th July represented a fantastic opportunity to discuss eSIM moving from a physical SIM card to a digital eSIM download. This software shift is set to transform the mobile industry, says Gary Waite, Head of eSIM Strategy at Sim Local, offering new business opportunities for mobile network operators (MNOs) and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) as well as a new world of choice for consumers. The GSMA itself predicts that by 2025, 35% of all smartphone network connections will be made using eSIM technology and even in two years’ time, 10% of those connections will be via eSIM. Whilst it feels up to this point eSIM has been a silent revolution, MNOs really need to be prepared as this pioneering technology looks set to disrupt their day-to-day business. To read the full article from [...]

Enterprise Tranformed - TechPro, December 2019 "Our advice to others considering reinventing the way they do things to develop a digital product is this — I would strongly advise you pick your partners well. Also, build out a minimum viable product – this allowed us to fully test and operate the system without the pressure to have to get it to market by a certain deadline,” Julie Gibb, Sim Local Julie Gibb is chief technology officer of Sim Local, a Singlepoint customer that engaged in a digital transformation project with the company that ended up being so successful, it was used by Google as a case study at a conference in the US. “We were primarily a provider of physical SIM cards but last year we saw the arrival of eSIM technology on the horizon and recognised that this new development was going to have a [...]

Sim Local Recognised as Best Solution Provider at MVNO World Congress -Judged as “the best and most innovative solution”- Amsterdam, May 2019: Sim Local, the independent provider of local network bundles to intercontinental travellers, has been recognised as the Best Solution Provider at the MVNO World Congress in Amsterdam for its propriety technology SIMulator.  SIMulator is the first technology of its type which makes it possible to apply data, talk and text bundles to SIM cards in less than six seconds, significantly reducing the industry average of seven minutes which is required by other retailers and networks. Commenting on the award, Hakeel Zaman, Commercial Director for Sim Local said, “It is a huge honour to be recognised by The MVNO World Congress for our SIMulator software. SIMulator is undoubtedly disrupting the market.  By integrating this software for selling SIM cards, a hugely improved customer experience is delivered resulting [...]