As Internet of Things (IoT) technology is helping companies view and manage the locations and conditions of high-value assets or inventory, some parts of the United States are still inaccessible for wireless devices. That is due to the differences in local carriers and connectivity offered. Some industries poised to benefit most from IoT solutions operate in areas in which coverage can be challenging.
With that in mind, Soracom has released its Plan US-MAX solution, which leverages the company’s embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) card, or any other Soracom SIM, and a subscription service to provide more ubiquitous coverage to customers. The network accesses data from Soracom-based devices across the United States and Canada by leveraging connectivity via Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile networks.
The network accesses data from Soracom-based devices across the United States and Canada by leveraging connectivity via Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile networks.
With the Plan US-MAX solution, devices roam for the best connectivity across carriers, whether they employ 3G, 4G, LTE-M or NB-IoT. In that way, the system can be deployed by IoT sensors and devices in remote areas, or moving around North America. Several companies have beta-tested the solution as they offer IoT devices and solutions for customers with connectivity challenges, based on the location or mobility of the devices they are tracking.
One example is TOKU Systems, which offers its IoT solutions to oil and gas companies that monitor the conditions of goods through their supply chain, says Andrew Jarman, TOKU Systems’ chief technology officer. By nature of the industry, he explains, oil and gas assets are primarily found in remote locations, yet the IoT provides unique benefits in tracking such high-value assets and their conditions, wherever they are being stored or used. “As a result,” Jarman states, “it is important that we can maximize our cellular footprint by having service through multiple network providers.”
TOKU Systems designs and manufactures Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) products, including its TX2 Controller and Pressure Sensor, which captures pressure data from pipeline and equipment assets and delivers that information to appropriate recipients. The TX2 is certified to Class I Zone 0/Class I Div 1 Intrinsically Safe standards, Jarman says, which means it can be used almost anywhere without requiring expensive installations.
Automatically Connecting to Available Networks
Oil and gas operators maintain thousands of miles of pipeline, which typically cross extremely remote areas, and even major problems like pipeline leaks can thus be extremely difficult to detect. Therefore, TOKU Systems’ continuous pressure measurements are designed to alert operators to problems like pipeline leaks that are otherwise difficult to detect. TOKU additionally provides installations at locations that require extended coverage, such as national parks.
Soracom’s Plan US-MAX solution is a subscription-based offering that can be downloaded over the air to any active Soracom SIM, enabling users to activate IoT data coverage across the three largest mobile networks in the United States, according to Kenta Yasukawa, the firm’s CTO and co-founder. The system supports LTE-M where available, and it is provisioned to support 5G and NB-IoT when those are made available by the partner carriers and the solution or sensor providers.
Andrew Jarman
For TOKU, Jarman says, that means simplified supply chain logistics, since the IoT devices automatically connect to the available network, no matter where the equipment is installed within the country. TOKU will be able to simplify its order fulfillment, he says, since each device’s eSIM can automatically connect, wherever it is destined to be used. That eliminates the need for TOKU to determine the best network provider before shipping its products, he notes, adding, “Customers also benefit, as they can relocate their devices and remain confident that they will continue to have coverage.”
Another company beta-testing the subscription-based system is irrigation management business Hortau, which uses patented wireless stations to measure soil tension continuously in real time. Based on the collected sensor data, growers make irrigation decisions that maximize the volume and quality of crops, while also minimizing waste. These companies have been employing Soracom’s solutions to connect sensors in the field to their artificial intelligence (AI) back end in the cloud.
Device manufacturers or solution providers already using Soracom connectivity will not need to buy new SIMs to leverage the Plan US-MAX service. “Soracom’s container-based approach to multi-IMSI capability,” Yasukawa explains, “lets our customers add and manage profiles even on UICC [universal integrated circuit card] SIMs.” That means any Soracom SIM or eSIM can download Plan US-MAX over the air and use it to access the three largest cellular networks in the United States.
Solving Connectivity Issues for Farms, Energy and Mining
“The U.S. has been ready for a plan like this for a long time,” Yasukawa says, and U.S. companies represent one of Soracom’s largest markets. Until now, he adds, such companies have been able to access coverage through AT&T and T-Mobile networks. At times, however, this did not provide universal coverage that might be required in some geographies. “The U.S. is also a very large country, and in rural or remote areas cellular coverage can drop off quickly.” Verizon has now been added to the two other carriers that the Soracom devices can access.
The Plan US-MAX system entered private beta-testing with a small number of customers last year, then was made available to all Soracom customers in May 2023. Devices in agriculture, mining and energy are expected to be among the service’s early applications, which could include GPS trackers used for asset location, cold chain management or vehicle fleet operations. While Soracom encourages solutions to use the more current bands (4G and LTE-M), Yasukawa says, some customers may have a specific preference for 2G or 3G, “and we’re happy to support them, as far as they understand sunsetting of those networks, and the product lifecycle and requirements can be fulfilled.”
Kenta Yasukawa
In addition to agricultural and oil and gas applications, Yasukawa reports, Soracom expects the network to be used in near-offshore installations or for managing conditions around high-voltage transmission lines in remote locations. Sensors can also be used in logistics applications to monitor assets on the move. Plan US-MAX subscriptions could be employed at point-of-sale terminals that require multi-carrier coverage in indoor locations, as well as for remote patient-care devices installed at patients’ homes that are covered by a limited set of carriers, such as in rural areas.
Pricing for self-service is $3 for downloading the service and $0.09 per megabyte for connectivity. Customized solutions would be priced according to the requirements. In the coming years, Yasukawa says, growth will continue into the above and additional business sectors. “We’re already seeing tremendous growth in healthcare applications,” he states, “and this is an area where continuous coverage can be critically important, especially when it comes to wearables for patient monitoring.”
Asset tracking will also figure prominently among common deployments, he predicts, as well as industrial and environmental monitoring solutions. One example is a solution from Charge Analytics that utilizes Soracom IoT-based connectivity to monitor and report on environmental hazards in high-risk sectors, such as construction, manufacturing, mining and chemical production.
At TOKU Systems, Jarman says, “We have already found customer locations that would benefit from the added Verizon coverage. We are currently in the process of rolling out additional firmware features to take better advantage of these new capabilities.”
Key Takeaways:
- Traditionally, Internet of Things solutions have had connectivity challenges in some parts of the United States, and Soracom’s Plan US-MAX solution is aimed at making coverage more accessible.
- With the solution, sensor devices can roam for the best network among the three major service providers, using anything from 3G and 4G to LTE-M and NB-IoT.