Red Pocket Mobile is the latest wireless provider to begin offering a free trial through eSIM. The multi-carrier MVNO is offering a 7-day free trial that includes unlimited talk and text with 3GB of high-speed data. It is based on Red Pocket's $20 plan. The trial is currently only available for use on Red Pocket's GSMA network, which is Red Pocket code word for the AT&T network. Wave7 Research noted the new offer in the current edition of its prepaid report.
Strangely, Red Pocket Mobile does not seem to be heavily marketing the free trial offer. Wave7 Research observed that Red Pocket first made a reference to the offer via its Twitter account on May 18th.
Enjoy a ✨FREE✨ 7-Day Trial of Unlimited Talk Text & Data when you activate with a compatible eSIM device❗ Start yours today at https://t.co/FDT8qbRrgW pic.twitter.com/Q4GD0CFJfc
— Red Pocket Mobile (@RedPocketMobile) May 18, 2022
The offer, however, is not readily apparent on Red Pocket's website. It's not shown on the Red Pocket homepage or on their plan comparison page. It's currently buried within a blog post. So to get the free eSIM trial offer you either have to access it through Red Pocket's social media, blog post, or through this link. This is in contrast to other providers who have recently launched free eSIM trials. US Mobile, which launched its free eSIM trial about a week ago, makes it readily apparent through a banner on its homepage that you can try their service for free. Visible, which launched its free eSIM trial earlier this year, also advertises it on its homepage. Visible also launched video streaming ads to market its offer.
Jeff Moore, Principal of Wave7 Research commented to BestMVNO on Red Pocket's new free trial offer: “It’s still early days on eSIM. Carriers such as Red Pocket, Visible, and US Mobile are trying it out, but moves are tentative so far. Red Pocket is ambitious and continues to air a couple of TV ads.”
It's not clear why Red Pocket isn't heavily marketing its new trial offer, but there could be a few reasons for it. For starters, it will cost them money if enough customers either abuse the system or don't convert to paying customers. But more likely it's because eSIM is relatively new for Red Pocket Mobile and they're still testing the waters with it. It was only in March that BestMVNO reported that Red Pocket began offering support for eSIM for GSMA activations only with the purchase of an iPhone. Red Pocket's help and support page, which was last updated two days ago, states that many other devices can now be activated with eSIM. The support page lists Google Pixel phones, Samsung Galaxy phones, Oppo, and Huawei phones as being eSIM compatible with its network. The page also shows Apple watches and iPads as compatible. Customers wishing to activate via eSIM can do so at checkout.
Update: The free eSIM trial offer has been suspended indefinitely