PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 11, 2026--
Ubigi, the eSIM connectivity brand of global mobile operator Transatel (a subsidiary of the NTT Group), has chosen French racing driver Esteban Ocon to serve as the face of its Travel eSIM offering. This partnership highlights Ubigi’s international ambitions and reflects the brand’s promise to provide consumers and businesses with high-performance, accessible 4G/5G connectivity in more than 200 destinations worldwide.
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Launched in 2017, the pioneer in global eSIM connectivity has enjoyed strong growth in recent years, surpassing 3 million customers and establishing itself among the most popular international eSIM services.
ESTEBAN OCON AND UBIGI: A NATURAL FIT
Ubigi’s choice of Esteban Ocon is part of a brand strategy aimed at associating the company with international mobility, performance and technological innovation. As a renowned racing driver travelling the world throughout the Grand Prix season, Esteban Ocon represents a hyper-connected generation accustomed to moving seamlessly from one country to another without compromising their digital habits.
“Our ambition at Ubigi is to simplify mobile connectivity for all travellers. In a world where mobile usage continues to grow, we want to offer a seamless, frictionless experience at increasingly accessible prices. The choice of Esteban Ocon fits naturally within this vision: beyond his international reputation, he embodies an ultra-mobile lifestyle, a drive for performance and the ability to thrive in international environments,” said Marie-Julie Le Guen, Ubigi Brand Director at Transatel.
For the driver, the collaboration is also based on first-hand experience with the service.
“I discovered Ubigi while travelling to Grand Prix events and was immediately impressed by the simplicity of the concept and the quality of the service. Being able to stay connected in every country I visit throughout the season without worrying about roaming charges is a real advantage in everyday life,” added Esteban Ocon.
MOTORSPORT AS A DRIVER OF GLOBAL REACH
The partnership with Esteban Ocon forms part of a broader initiative linked to the world of motorsport. Each Grand Prix attracts a global audience and brings together fans who are particularly receptive to themes of innovation, technology and performance, in line with Ubigi’s positioning.
Beyond traveller connectivity, Ubigi has also been a recognised player in connected vehicle services since 2017. This direct connection with the automotive world, deeply rooted in Ubigi’s DNA, further strengthens the relevance of this partnership.
Esteban Ocon Named Global Ambassador for Ubigi Travel eSIM Service
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is visiting the Canary Islands on Thursday to draw attention to the plight of migrants who risk their lives every year trying to reach Europe, fulfilling a wish of Pope Francis to visit one of the epicenters of the European migration debate.
Leo is spending the final two days of his weeklong trip to Spain in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula that is a key point of entry for migrants smuggled from West Africa.
He is meeting with recently arrived migrants and representatives of the church and humanitarian organizations that care for them and work to integrate them into Spanish society.
Most poignantly, he will commemorate the thousands of lives lost at sea from a port that in 2020 became known as the “dock of shame” because of the squalid conditions migrants lived in when they came ashore during a spike in arrivals.
Spain’s Socialist-led government, which had been shamed by the 2020 crisis, has bucked a trend in Europe and the United States by defending immigration on economic and humanitarian grounds. It has launched a legalization push earlier this year for hundreds of thousands of immigrants without authorization.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has highlighted the benefits to the economy with an aging workforce and low birth rate.
Leo has already called for strengthened international efforts to prevent human smuggling of migrants, the creation of safe pathways for them to move legally and development in countries of origin so more people can choose to stay home.
In a speech to the Spanish Parliament earlier this week, the first-ever by a pope, Leo demanded welcome and integration for those who do choose to flee, insisting on their inherent human dignity.
“The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile,” Leo said in a speech that also upheld the inherent dignity of the unborn, the elderly and sick. He received a 7-minute standing ovation at the end.
Migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands peaked in 2024 at nearly 47,000, but have fallen dramatically, with just over 2,000 people landing there in the first four months of 2026.
Upon his arrival in Las Palmas, Leo was to head to Arguineguin, where in 2020 arrivals reached such numbers that migrants were forced to sleep in makeshift camps in the open air on a dock that became known as the “dock of shame.”
Many migrants were left to sleep for weeks with just a blanket and no showers. Potential asylum seekers had no proper access to legal advice and some people were held for weeks, much longer than the three days that the law allowed. The crisis shamed the government, which was forced by its ombudsman to shutter the makeshift camp and relocate the migrants.
Learning of the crisis, Francis had planned to visit the Canary Islands to bring his solidarity, but never managed the trip. Francis had made the plight of refugees a hallmark of his papacy, following the Gospel mandate to “welcome the stranger.”
Leo has followed suit, insisting especially on the dignity of migrants in his native United States amid the Trump administration’s crackdown and mass deportation program.
Next month, on July 4, the American pope will spend U.S. Independence Day on the island of Lampedusa, Sicily, another main point of entry for migrants smuggled from North Africa trying to reach Europe.
Francis had visited Lampedusa in 2013, on his first trip outside Rome, and tossed a wreath into the Mediterranean in honor of the thousands of migrants who died in the perilous crossing. It was on that trip that he coined a phrase that became a mantra during his pontificate denouncing the “globalization of indifference” that the world showed migrants.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with members of the Spanish Parliament at the Congress of Deputies, in Madrid, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV leaves at the end of a meeting with faithful and members of the diocesan charity and welfare organizations in the Church of Sant Agusti in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives to celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)
