What makes IoT SIMs different from regular SIMs?

But powering massive IoT, critical IoT, and mobile broadband (to name just a few) requires a whole lot more than the typical SIMs on offer in your local high street phone shop.

That’s because regular SIMs lack the versatility, reliability, and control needed for IoT devices (along with having data caps that could shut down your solution mid-use, and device restrictions that make deployments a nightmare).

Often sold in incremental data packages, regular SIMs are sold on a SIM by SIM basis, usually with fixed volumes of data over fixed terms of 12 or 24 months.

But IoT SIMs benefit from completely customisable tariffs and contracts; meaning you only pay for exactly what you need, for however long you need it. Whether you need megabytes, gigabytes, or terabytes of data, 100 or 1000 SIMs, 3 months or 3 years, terms can be adjusted to fit your solution.

And unlike regular SIMs, a single optimised pool of data can be shared across multiple SIMs—cutting costs and preventing overage surprises if one SIM uses more data than another.

Regular SIMs operate on one fixed network, in a single country. This creates multiple problems for IoT projects that are on the move (like a fleet of international vehicles) or large scale, long-distanced deployments (hundreds of smart meters across a country).

In both cases, you’d need hours of planning to ensure the strongest network is chosen for each SIM based on location. A problem that’s exasperated by no network having perfect coverage or uptime; not to mention the logistics of getting the right SIM to the right location, and the risk of international roaming charges.

But you don’t need to worry about any of this with IoT SIMs. They cut the legwork and risk out of planning even the most complex deployments that need reliable connectivity.

Unsteered multi-network SIMs don’t tie the solution to a single network in a single country. Instead, they let your solutions move seamlessly from network to network, and country to country, with no roaming charges. And if a network drops there’s no interruption in service. Best of all: the device will connect to the strongest network available, because the SIM has no preferred network.

That means there’s no lengthy planning for where the device might go or what network it will need, no risky rollouts that might see SIMs sent to the wrong places, no threat of the device going offline, and no stacks of paperwork; you’ll only ever deal with one provider who’ll give you one contract and one bill for your entire estate.

On top of that, industrial grade or rugged IoT SIMs add an extra layer of resilience for solutions that need to venture into rough terrain, or places with extreme temperatures, like at a remote mountain resort or on a cross-country train.

Consumer data usage doesn’t tend to fluctuate. We do the same things every day—send emails, stream music, watch football highlights… and with only one SIM in our pocket, there’s no need to keep track of what it’s doing. After all, we’re the ones using it.

But IoT solutions aren’t nearly as consistent in their data usage. SIMs often go through periods of inactivity, which leaves businesses paying for a service they might not be using or having to tweak their data requirements.

And with large scale deployments it’s tricky to keep track of so many SIMs, let alone visit them in the field to make adjustments or troubleshoot issues (imagine having to trek up a mountain every time!).

IoT SIMs are designed with control, visibility, and longevity in mind. Portals give access to real-time usage information, generate reports, send alerts, and keep track of the SIM’s location; while management tools can be used to remotely troubleshoot, activate, deactivate, block, and cap usage remotely. IoT SIMs can also be provisioned over the air (OTA), and if you opt for an eSIM solution you can even manually change its operator profiles—eliminating the need to swap a SIM in and out.

Also, the availability of static IPs and APIs ensures the connectivity can be integrated into your day to day processes—whether you need to run video conferencing or a Virtual Private Network, or pull SIM information into your own custom applications.