Why Your IoT Deployment Needs More Than a Standard SIM Card

Most IoT projects begin with the device. Businesses spend time evaluating sensors, platforms, and use cases. The SIM card tends to be an afterthought, a box to tick before the deployment goes live.

That approach works fine in a pilot with a handful of devices in a single location where the signal is strong, and downtime costs nothing. It stops working the moment you scale.

The one-carrier SIM is used for one network. If their network suffers an outage, all the devices on the network are taken down at the same time. No back-up, no rerouting, no warning until it is noticed that the data is not flowing. In IoT use cases—such as logistics, facilities, or retail—that can directly impact visibility, alerting, and disruption.

The case for purpose-built M2M and IoT SIM solutions is not difficult to make. It comes down to what happens when things go wrong, which, in any deployment of scale, they eventually will.

The Problem With Single-Carrier Connectivity

A consumer SIM or even a basic IoT SIM coupled with a single provider has a single point of failure. When the carrier is congested, scheduled for maintenance, or has an outage, the device becomes disconnected. It’s not something that can be avoided.

The higher the deployment size, the greater this risk. Ten devices just losing their connection are OK. Hundreds of sensors spread throughout a city, across several warehouses, houses, houses, or even across a border is another matter. There was a major carrier outage in the early part of 2024 that impacted more than 125 million devices in one event, which prevented millions of calls and caused the outages of IoT hardware across various industries for more than 8 hours.

Coverage areps is another pertinent yet related issue. The coverage map on a single carrier may seem like a lot on a piece of paper. The map is not always representative of the performance that can be expected in real-world conditions within steel enclosures, underground facilities, utilities, and/or remote industrial locations. If the signal is degraded at a particular device, it is unable to recover if it is located on a single network.

A single carrier is a design decision that adds unneeded risk to applications and use cases involving the Internet of Things.

What Makes M2M SIM Connectivity Different

M2M SIM solutions are specifically created to meet the requirements of machine-to-machine and IoT deployments, and come with features that consumer SIMs are not equipped with.

The key difference is that one is multi-network capable and the other is not. Resilient M2M SIM technology can allow an M2M SIM to be connected to multiple carriers, automatically switching between which one is available. The device remains connected to the Internet. The switchover occurs automatically; in seconds, not minutes.

In addition to failover, multi-network SIM solutions usually have a centralised management for the entire fleet. Operations teams are able to see the status of connectivity for all deployed devices, rather than needing to log in to separate carrier portals to view the status of each device. All of these – usage, signal strength, and connectivity – are displayed on a single panel.

Another practical advantage is the ability to use data pooling. Pooled data does not dedicate a set amount of data per device, but instead distributes data usage throughout the fleet. Devices with lower usage take up less space, freeing up space for devices that require more. This means waste is minimised and the economics of large deployments are made easier.

Where Multi-Network SIM Connectivity Is Most Valuable

There are scenarios that allow for a loss of connectivity. If there’s a sensor conducting ambient temperature readings in a non-critical environment, it can take a few readings that are missed. Many cannot.

In a retail or food and beverage (F&B) establishment, the payment terminal must be able to process transactions reliably. When a connection drops at the point of sale, it’s lost revenue and a customer who is mad. To securely authenticate users, make payments,  and keep track of sessions, EV charging stations must be constantly online. When the charger service fails at the point of connection, it’s not just an inconvenience; it’s a service failure.

Without constant communication between the vehicles and back-end systems, fleet tracking will not function. Logistics and supply chain management are no exception, where a lack of connectivity can lead to a lack of visibility and ultimately scheduling mistakes, non-compliance, or customer complaints.

In the public sector, deployments such as water level monitoring or lift maintenance sensors may be used as part of a system that will benefit public safety, for example, environmental monitoring. They’re the exact uses where it is not an option to just connect things together.

Multi-network SIM connectivity is the right starting point, not an upgrade, for any IoT deployments where downtime is an actual cost.

SPTel’s Multi-Network M2M SIM

SPTel’s Multi-Network SIM is a new SIM card that supports the three major mobile networks in Singapore. Automatic failover of one network to the next one, without requiring manual actions or device reconfiguration.

The solution has been developed for organisations that are deploying IoT and M2M solutions where uptime is paramount. A centralised dashboard allows operations teams to manage connectivity via a single place, regardless of the SIMs’ deployment locations, whether local or international.

All three networks are covered by a single contract, which eliminates the hassle of having to manage multiple carrier contracts. Data pooling prevents waste of per-device plans that are not being used and ensures costs are predictable, avoiding the unpredictability of per-device plans not aligning with usage.

In addition, the SIM is also globally covered, making it a useful solution for businesses with deployments overseas or IoT applications that traverse geographies, like fleet tracking and logistics operations that extend beyond Singapore.

SPTel’s network is 5 G-ready and will serve as the backbone of IoT deployments that will require a higher bandwidth in the future to support their technology and use cases.

SPTel offers resilience and centralised control and enables your IoT and M2M devices to communicate across networks, locations, and borders – all the things critical deployments demand.

Getting the Connectivity Foundation Right

As much as anywhere else, connectivity is key to the success or failure of IoT deployments. Very good device hardware can be in place. The site can be quite a lovely site. However, if the SIM card that is used to connect everything to the network fails, the rest doesn’t matter.

In the deployment of an IoT system, connectivity is the only element that connects to all devices, all locations, and all applications running on the network. This is much more cost-effective and disruptive to implement when development is in progress than to implement later on when it breaks.

By 2030, the overall cellular M2M and IoT market size in the Asia-Pacific is expected to grow to 1.3 billion connections. Today’s business decisions make a difference for operational resilience for years to come when they are constructing their IoT infrastructure. The SIM card is but a small piece of that puzzle. However, it is one that is basic.