New travel e-SIM providers use novel ways to woo customers

e-SIM provider Firsty offers 300MB of free data daily when users watch advertisements. The Singapore-based start-up has more than 600,000 users. PHOTO: FIRSTY

Zachary Lim

UPDATED May 25, 2025, 05:00 AM

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SINGAPORE – Want free mobile data when travelling overseas during the upcoming June school holidays? All you have to do is watch some advertisements first.

Singapore-based start-up Firsty is offering this service as it looks to compete in a market projected to grow to more than 215 million customers in about three years’ time.

The Dutch firm moved its headquarters from Amsterdam to Singapore in March, and raised US$5.5 million (S$7 million) to upsize operations by expanding its Asia-Pacific market.

Local firm Tuas, which owns Simba Telecom, has also joined the fray with its Goose eSIM, launched in October 2024. Both Tuas and Firsty are vying to get a slice of the growing travel eSIM space dominated by international players such as Airalo and Gigsky.

While Goose eSIM does not offer free data like Firsty, its prices are highly competitive compared with global travel eSIM providers – a Goose travel eSIM to Malaysia costs US$1.50 per 1GB, valid for a year.

The eSIM business has been growing fast since 2017, when eSIM-compatible smartphones were launched.

Embedded as a tiny chip in devices, an eSIM performs the same functions as a physical SIM card, including the storage of identification information and connecting users to networks. It allows users to switch mobile providers or data plans digitally.

There were 40 million eSIM users in 2024, and the number is projected to grow to more than 215 million by 2028, according to a 2024 study by Britain-based research company Juniper Research.

eSIM retailers offer their products on online shopping platforms, such as Shopee, at highly competitive prices to Singapore buyers. For instance, Shopee retailer Jetpac offers 1GB of roaming data covering 100 destinations, valid for four days, for $1.50.

Firsty, founded in August 2024, is currently available in 165 countries and territories across Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa, and has more than 600,000 users.

“Singapore is in many ways a global hub that aligns perfectly with our goal of becoming the world’s first free telecom provider. It hosts a lot of companies that either benefit from having their services always online, like financial or ride-hailing apps, or businesses with employees that travel,” said Firsty co-founder Vince Vissers.

With the Firsty free package, users can get up to 300MB of mobile data daily and unlimited access to all e-mail and messaging platforms, and Uber.

Connection is available to users after they watch advertisements on the app, with each ad earning them an hour of data, up to a maximum of six hours consecutively. To reconnect, they can watch more ads towards the end of their connection period.

Mr Gauthier Thierens (left) and Mr Vince Vissers, co-founders of Dutch travel eSIM start-up Firsty, moved the company’s headquarters from Amsterdam to Singapore in March. PHOTO: FIRSTY

Users will not need to watch ads for access to partner apps like Uber, Trip.com and GetYourGuide. Mr Vissers said that Firsty is looking to add Grab and Gojek as similar partners.

“Our aim is to ensure that no matter where you are, you can book a ride, check your itinerary, message a friend or access your bank without needing to pay for data upfront,” he said.

Users who exceed the 300MB allowance would either need to wait for the data to be replenished 24 hours later, or purchase its 1.5GB or 5GB daily data plans without having to watch ads. These cost €1.70 (S$2.50) and €3.50 a day respectively.

Travellers need to ensure that roaming on their primary SIM is disabled to avoid incurring accidental roaming costs.

Goose eSIM offers coverage in more than 70 destinations. It operates on a pay-per-use basis, starting at US$1.50 for 1GB of coverage at 24 of its 76 destinations, with its most expensive being travel eSIMs covering Chile and Tajikistan for US$9. It had more than 5,000 application downloads as at February.

According to a report by Citi Research published in March, Goose has the cheapest rates for 1GB travel eSIM plans when pitted against global travel eSIM big boys, including Airalo and GigSky.

Firsty is not the only eSIM provider in Singapore offering free data. US-based eSIM network provider Nomad also offers free data, with its own caveats.

First-time users of Nomad’s travel eSIMs will enjoy a free 500MB trial that connects users in 48 countries, but is valid for only one day. For more data and longer connection, customers would have to purchase one of its packages, which start at $5.85 for 1GB of 5G data in locations including Austria, Bulgaria and Croatia.

Local telcos Singtel, M1 and StarHub are not falling too far behind the eSIM players. Singtel’s mobile roaming rates begin at $5, providing users with 1GB of data in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

StarHub customers can opt for 1GB of roaming data, valid for three days, for $6 when travelling to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

M1, on the other hand, lets its customers use their Singapore mobile data allowance overseas for a monthly fee starting from $15.

Singaporean student Tan Carine said she usually buys her eSIM plans on travel site Klook as it offers the best deals for unlimited data at high speeds. The travel eSIMs available on Klook begin as low as 75 cents for 500MB of mobile data for a day in Malaysia.

The 22-year-old said Firsty’s free package has too many caveats and 300MB is too little.

“I use data for leisure functions like casual scrolling on social media and streaming shows while on the commute, in addition to essential functions,” she said.

Public service officer Chan Li Ting, 30, said she prefers to stick to trusted brands like Airalo. For her trip to Japan in 2024, she paid a promotional US$9 for an Airalo plan that offered her 10GB of data, valid for 30 days.

She finds watching ads to activate roaming data a hassle. “When I go abroad for leisure, the intention is to experience the place, not be stuck on my phone... watching advertisements to activate more data,” she said.

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