We started Telekonek after one too many 3-hour SIM queues at airport arrival halls. The phone in your pocket already has the chip — we just had to write the software to make it work in 0+ countries.
In 2023, three of us landed in Lisbon for what was supposed to be a five-day break. The first morning we spent ninety minutes hunting an open SIM kiosk; the second we spent forty minutes filling out passport-number paperwork; the third we lost when one of us tried to top up and got the language wrong. By the time we had data, we'd burned a whole afternoon.
That's a problem, but it's a solvable problem. Phones built after 2018 ship with an eSIM chip — a software-defined SIM that can be loaded over the air. The carriers know this. The platforms know this. The only thing missing was someone whose job it was to make activation feel like scanning a QR code instead of buying a SIM card.
So we built it. Telekonek is what we wish had existed that morning in Lisbon: pick a country, scan a code, land connected. No queue, no passport scan, no roaming bill from your home carrier when you forget to switch a setting.
Roaming is what you're escaping. Our eSIMs use local network rates wherever you land — no kickback to your home carrier, no $15/day surprise.
No subscription, no minimum term, no auto-renewal you have to dig through Settings to find. Buy a 5-day plan, use 5 days, done.
We see your itinerary because we have to provision your eSIM. We don't sell it to airlines, hotels, or ad networks. We hate that game.
Data abroad shouldn't cost a hotel night. We renegotiate wholesale every quarter and pass the savings through. When a route gets cheaper, your next plan is cheaper too.
We never disable your primary line. Keep iMessage, 2FA codes, family calls — use our eSIM as the data line in parallel. The way dual-SIM was meant to be used.
If your trip changes, plan didn't activate, you didn't end up needing the data — message us, we refund. We'd rather lose the sale than have you write a 1-star review.
Support is a 5-person team across 3 time zones. No outsourced call centre. The person who replies has personally installed an eSIM in the country you're emailing from.
"We hire travellers. People who've been to the place they're building for, who've stood in the SIM queue and lost the afternoon. Five of us right now, across Singapore, Lisbon, and Manila."
careers@telekonek.com →Pick a destination, scan a QR, land connected. From $3.50.
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