Everything you need to know about roaming IoT SIMs

Last month, we looked at the huge growth of the IoT market; a boom that’s brought 87% of businesses to the point where IoT is now critical to their success.

And a big part of that is down to the growth of the roaming market.

Roaming is one of the most important technologies in IoT, and it plays a role in every single vertical market; from moving international deployments that need access to multiple networks, to stationary solutions that need resilience against outages.

It all boils down to one fact: every IoT device needs to connect to networks locally no matter where it is, in order to transmit and receive data. And if you’re running an IoT solution, roaming will make your life infinitely easier.

Here’s everything you need to know about roaming IoT SIMs.

Pangea IoT blog: Roaming IoT SIM - Showing lorries parked

Why roaming is IoT’s best friend:

It’s a logistical lifesaver. Without roaming, you’d need to set up a new contract with every single operator whose networks your device might use. Tedious and costly.

But there’s no need to negotiate a new contract with every local network when you’ve got an IoT SIM that’s already been given access to them all.

While it’s true that consumer SIMs can also roam, it’s limited to a single network. And they can’t be tweaked or managed like an IoT SIM; so you could end up paying for more data than you need, or not getting enough data. On top of that, you’d miss out on the coverage and resilience from having multiple network options in any country.

IoT roaming makes deployment simpler too, since you won’t have to configure your suite of SIMs for each separate network in your area.

It future-proofs you for business growth. Whether you’re going from local to regional or national to international, expanding your operation means you’ll have to negotiate with operators for coverage in the areas you’re moving into.

With roaming SIMs you won’t be restricted when your product needs to cross national or international borders.

And it adds a layer of resilience. If there’s an outage, instead of being locked out of other networks your roaming IoT SIM will be able to hop onto another one and keep your device connected.

But it’s important to note that these benefits are best when combined with unsteered connectivity. Here’s what I mean by that:

Steered SIMs vs Unsteered SIMs

Steered roaming SIMs will swap to another available network if there’s a dip in coverage or an outage, but will always default to a particular network (usually their home network, or the one with the lowest cost) if it’s available, even if its signal isn’t as good.

On the other hand, unsteered roaming Multi-network SIMs don’t have a home network; instead, they allow the device to find the strongest signal and stay connected to it. This is a big advantage for any solution that needs connectivity, but it’s especially important in 4G on-demand backup for critical applications that can’t afford any downtime at all, like retail and healthcare.

There’s one last thing to consider when it comes to choosing your roaming IoT SIMs: range.

The 3 ranges of roaming IoT SIMs

Roaming can be split into three types:

1. National roaming enables SIMs to access more than one mobile network in any given spot within a country. It’s a must for mobile solutions that need to travel small or large distances, like connected cars and bikes, or asset tracking for local deliveries.

2. International roaming takes things a step further and enables SIMs to connect to multiple networks across the globe, allowing devices to temporarily work outside of the SIM’s home country.

It’s great for solutions that regularly move between their home country and a neighbour, like a fleet monitoring system for trucks that deliver internationally, or a suite of cameras on a transport ferry.

However, the caveat is that the SIM needs to be back in its home country by a set date, or must spend a specific amount of time there; otherwise, it’ll be deactivated.

3. Permanent roaming is the ultimate in globetrotting connectivity. It makes it so that SIMs can freely leave their home territory for as long as the solution needs, without facing any deactivation deadlines.

So even if a device is manufactured across borders or overseas for a fixed deployment, like a building security system or a smart factory robot, it’ll be able to stay connected to local networks without hassle.

This combines really well with Multi-network and eSIMs, which can both be provisioned from anywhere.

Pangea IoT blog: Roaming IoT SIM - Brexit impact

Will Brexit affect your roaming IoT SIMs?

If you’re a UK partner with deployments in the EU, it’s a very valid concern.

Luckily, MNOs currently don’t have any plans to rock the boat and charge for roaming right now; but now that there’s no trade deal preventing it, there’s the always possibility of charges being implemented down the line.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Roam Like At Home agreement allowed UK data to be used in the EU, easing the worries of folks travelling for holiday and business.

But the agreement was also a big step for IoT deployments, allowing consumer SIMs to play a role in big data solutions. Now that Brexit’s through, that could change any time.

If you’re partnered with us, you don’t have anything to worry about. You’ve already got access to all the benefits of our global IoT network, including connectivity wherever you need it and stable costs that fit your usage.

(And if you’re not partnered with us—what are you waiting for?)

Are you roaming-ready?

If you’re planning an IoT project, make sure you’ve got a roaming strategy for your SIMs that’ll keep you online and allow for growth.

Even more so if you’re planning to stake a claim in the 5G market this year. Roaming will let you build your portfolio of 5G solutions as MNOs expand their 5G coverage, without having to jump through hoops every time your operation grows.

Drop us a message if you’ve got a question about roaming or want to gear up with our roaming IoT SIMs. After all, why have one network when you can have them all?