Communications
SIGNAL STRENGTH ISN’T THE SELECTOR
Some multi network eSIM providers claim their profiles “connect to the
strongest network” or “pick the best signal,” suggesting a live, intelligent scan across carriers. It’s an appealing idea — but it isn’t how network selection actually works. Matt Atkinson, MD of Utelize explains.
S
ome multi-network eSIM providers make claims that their eSIM “automatically connects to the strongest network” or “selects the best signal.” Tese claims imply that the eSIM is
continuously monitoring signal strength across multiple carrier networks and intelligently choosing the one with the best coverage at any given moment. Tis is an attractive idea. It is also not how mobile network selection works.
The device decides, not the SIM Te first and most important point: it is your device – specifically, the baseband modem chip inside your iPhone, Samsung, iPad or other cellular device – that decides which network to connect to. Te SIM’s role is to provide a list of which networks the device is permitted to use (based on the connectivity provider’s commercial roaming agreements). But the actual decision of which network to connect to is made by the device itself, following a process defined by international standards. Tis process is called PLMN selection (Public Land Mobile
Network selection) and is defined in 3GPP specification TS 23.122. Every mobile device in the world follows this standard. It is not something that a SIM provider can override or customise.
The selection priority order When your device is looking for a network to connect to – for example, when you arrive in a new country, switch your device on, or lose and regain coverage – it follows a strict priority order. Tis is the actual sequence defined by the 3GPP standard: • Step 1: Your device looks for its home carrier network first. For example, a SIM issued by EE, it looks for EE.
• Step 2: Networks treated by the home carrier as equivalent to itself (e.g., sub-brands on the same infrastructure).
• Step 3: Networks the user has manually added as preferred, in priority order.
• Step 4: Networks the SIM provider has set as preferred via the SIM’s stored list. Tis is where multi-network eSIM roaming agreements come into play.
44 | July/August 2026
• Step 5: Remaining available networks the device is permitted to use. If multiple networks are available at equal priority, the device selects at random, not by signal strength.
• Step 6: Signal strength is considered only here, as a simple pass/ fail threshold. If no list-based selection has succeeded, the device will connect to any network with a detectable signal. Tis step is almost never reached for multi-network eSIMs with broad roaming agreements.
At Step 5, if your device has several permitted networks available and none has a higher list priority than the others, the device chooses between them at random. Tis means that in a location with three available networks – one with excellent signal, one with good signal, and one with marginal signal, your device is equally likely to connect to any of the three, provided all three meet the minimum signal threshold. Signal does play one role: a simple pass/fail test. Can the device
hear this network well enough to register? If yes, it is eligible. If no, it is excluded. Tere is no ranking, no comparison, no ‘best signal’ logic in the standard selection process. A network with one bar of signal is treated identically to a network with full bars, as long as both pass the minimum threshold.
Cell tower handover vs network switching To understand why the ‘best signal’ claim does not hold up, it helps to understand the two fundamentally different ways a device can change its connection – and why one is seamless, and the other is not. Seamless cell tower handover only works between towers on the
same network. Vodafone hands you off between Vodafone towers. EE hands you off between EE towers. Te network knows you, knows your session, knows your IP address, and coordinates the handover without interruption. Tis is possible because you are already authenticated and registered on that network. Switching between carrier networks is nothing like this. Your
device must completely disconnect from Vodafone, then connect to EE as if it were a brand-new subscriber arriving on EE’s network
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