The scope of IoT solutions is massive, ranging from simple data-gathering trackers that provide game-changing insights, to transformative solutions that enable entirely new services and functions.
And for complex or mission-critical solutions, basic connectivity simply won’t cut it. That’s where intelligent connectivity comes in, providing the adaptive, resilient experience that its precursors simply can’t. Mobile World Congress gave us a glimpse of this; a world with always-smart, always-on connectivity, completely dependable and at the core of every application.
We’re taking steps to make that world a reality.
Losing Connectivity
With so many devices dependant on the cloud, maintaining connectivity is more crucial than it ever has been. Today, dropped connectivity is akin to losing a utility such as electricity, gas, or water—aside from really ruining a day, it can halt a business in its tracks.
There’s a number of common causes for lost connectivity:
- Poor Network Coverage: you enter an area where there’s no coverage for the particular network your SIM is operating on.
- No Bandwidth: your operator’s network is up and running smoothly, and you’ve got cell signal—but there’s not enough bandwidth for your task; perhaps you’ve only got access to GPRS when you need LTE.
- Network Outages: You’ve got LTE coverage, but there’s a network outage. Customers around the UK rise up in righteous fury against your MNO; but you’re still left without connectivity.
Whatever the underlying reason (and there are many more—mobile networks are complex beasts), you can’t connect to your device, your app is unusable, and your crucial task goes unfinished.
When problems become disasters
Beyond being unable to open emails or watch cat videos, there’s no shortage of mission-critical applications where losing connectivity can quickly turn disastrous.
- Trading: When it comes to finances, real-time information updates are essential to ensure returns on large financial transactions. In a similar vein, betting shops require near real-time updates to display accurate odds for players.
- Police Forces: A drop in connectivity could render police unable to report on a crime in progress, or stranded without the ability to call for backup in a dangerous situation.
- Emergency Services: For an ambulance transporting a critical patient, losing connectivity for even a minute could cause potentially fatal delays in health or locational data transmissions to the hospital.
Introducing Multi-net
These problems all share a common thread—dependency on a single mobile network. We’re solving that with our Multi-net SIM cards: unsteered SIMs that don’t discriminate between networks. Time for some definitions:
“Steered” – When multiple networks are available, but one network takes priority over the rest. A steered SIM will always connect to that network first where possible.
“Unsteered” – When multiple networks are available with no clear preference. Unsteered SIMs allow the device to connect to any network with equal priority.
Our unsteered Multi-network SIMs don’t discriminate between networks, meaning the devices powered by them will search for the strongest signal with the highest capacity (LTE > 3G > GPRS) and connect to that particular network.
Every problem I’ve touched on so far is easily solved with a multi-net SIM—and from a logistics and SIM management perspective, Multi-net saves a whole lot of headache and hassle.
Not to mention: our Multi-network service goes far beyond the UK, covering the EU and many other countries across the globe.
Here’s some current examples of Pangea-powered solutions that see success through Multi-net SIMs:
- River boats travelling through Europe. As the boats roam the continent and flit between borders, the SIMs seamlessly roam between networks; always choosing the top contender.
- Payment terminals on trains. Wherever the trains’ routes take them, they’re guaranteed the best possible chance of completing a mid-transit transaction.
- Pangea’s own cellular ethernet. Because our cellular ethernet is powered by multi-net SIMs, there’s no need for ourselves or our partners to scope out deployment locations to see which network provides the best service—and end-users stay connected to the top option, no matter what.
There you have it folks: the gospel of the Multi-net SIM. We’re thrilled to be able to provide our partners with the connectivity of the future; because we know basic connectivity simply isn’t enough anymore. If you want to make deployments a breeze and have customers enjoy always-on connectivity, get in touch with myself or the team at contact@pangea-group.net.
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