Have you ever wondered how cargo can be seamlessly tracked across continents or how an autonomous vehicle can communicate effortlessly across borders? Welcome to the world of IoT permanent roaming, the invisible yet crucial force that keeps devices connected globally.
However, maintaining uninterrupted connectivity faces hurdles, as restrictions on permanent roaming bring challenges such as high costs and complex management.
In this article, we will delve into the concept of permanent roaming for IoT, discuss the challenges it presents, and explore potential solutions.
What is Permanent Roaming for IoT?
The concept of roaming, familiar to mobile phone users for many years, allows a device with a SIM card registered in one country to operate on a network in another. This service relies on reciprocal agreements between mobile network operators, involving the exchange of roaming fees.
For Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which are often deployed or transported worldwide, roaming proves particularly useful. Unlike a domestic device limited to its home operator’s network, an IoT device using roaming can connect to multiple networks, ensuring more reliable and extensive connectivity.
Now, let’s discuss permanent roaming: this refers to a situation where an IoT device remains connected to a foreign network (outside its home country) for an extended period. This concept is vital for many IoT applications, such as:
- Global asset tracking: Imagine a shipping container equipped with a location sensor. With permanent roaming, its position can be tracked in real-time, whether it’s crossing oceans or inland in a foreign country.
- Connected autonomous vehicles: To ensure seamless communication and navigation across borders, these vehicles require continuous cellular connectivity, including roaming.
- Portable medical devices: Medical devices connected to patients traveling abroad must transmit data continuously, which permanent roaming enables.
Permanent Roaming: Restrictions Around the World
While many countries allow permanent roaming without significant limitations, some major nations have implemented restrictions on this practice. The map below highlights countries where permanent roaming is prohibited and those where local operators have imposed limitations.
Europe
Permanent roaming is allowed, and the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has suggested that regulation promoting permanent roaming would help stimulate competition and innovation.
North America
There is no specific regulation, but Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) generally take proactive measures to impose strict restrictions on incoming roaming connections.
Brazil
Permanent roaming is not allowed in Brazil. Local operators are required to ensure that such devices are not connected to their networks.
Turkey
Permanent roaming, meaning the use of permanent roaming services on the same device for more than 120 days, is not allowed.
It is important to note that the limit is usually set at 90 cumulative days within a 120-day period.
Middle East
In Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, there is no explicit ban, but services must be provided by a licensed local operator.
India
Mandatory compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, along with a general restriction on permanent roaming. In 2017, the recommendation from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India proposed relaxing permanent roaming rules on a reciprocal basis with specific countries.
China
Permanent roaming is prohibited. Companies providing communication services in China must hold a local license.
Australia
There is no specific regulation, but mobile network operators explicitly ban the use of devices on inbound roaming once they exceed a certain period (usually 6 months).
Other Countries and Permanent Roaming
Many other countries, in addition to those shown on this map, also have rules regarding permanent roaming. Sometimes these are explicit bans, while in other cases, they are de facto prohibitions based on requirements for local licensing, data sovereignty, or similar issues.
Permanent Roaming: A Challenge to Global IoT Connectivity
While permanent roaming is essential for many IoT applications, it raises two major issues:
Regulatory Compliance and Exorbitant Costs
Service continuity depends on complying with the regulations and rules of partner operators. If the connectivity underlying your application does not meet these requirements, your devices may be abruptly disconnected, severely impacting service continuity, customer satisfaction, and costs.
Imagine the worst-case scenario: a good-faith agreement with a partner operator suddenly forces the deactivation of your devices in a specific market. Returning to compliance may require a “truck-roll,” meaning sending a technician to physically replace each SIM card.
Transforma Insights estimates the average cost of a “truck-roll” at 190 USD per device (which can rise much higher)
At the scale of your device fleet, returning to compliance becomes a financial drain, further tarnished by a disastrous customer experience. Significant legal fees can also add up.
In North America, for example, where restrictions on permanent roaming arise from strategic choices by operators rather than regulations, violating the rules can lead to punitive price hikes against operators and MVNOs that have marketed permanent roaming connectivity. This practice has intensified in North America since 2020.
Low Transparency and Excessive Dependence
Permanent roaming is widely used to connect IoT devices. In some extreme cases, up to 50% of IoT cellular connections in a country rely on roaming, even for static devices. For connectivity providers, roaming is the easiest way to offer global coverage.
However, this practice often lacks transparency for the customer. Mobile operators and MVNOs frequently use roaming to connect devices to competing networks, even though less than 2% of cellular connections represent genuine, regular roaming justifying the use of a SIM card outside the coverage area.
The rest of the IoT market is divided between 48% of static devices (e.g., ATMs, elevators, smart meters) with no need for international roaming, and 50% of potentially roaming devices (e.g., connected cars, wearables, smartwatches) that still have a “domestic market” and would be subject to permanent roaming restrictions if their domestic connectivity were itself based on roaming. In summary, many devices, whether static or mobile, today rely on an opaque system that poses challenges.
Network Management Complexity
Managing connections to multiple heterogeneous networks is a significant challenge. Each of these networks may have distinct pricing, coverage areas, and technical requirements. Harmonizing these disparate aspects proves to be complex and time-consuming.
Increased Partnering
Collaborating with numerous network partners involves negotiating contracts, managing finances, and ensuring consistent service quality across all networks. This results in a multitude of invoices and contracts, adding complexity and tasks far removed from the company’s core business.
Reduced Flexibility
The inability to rely on permanent roaming can hinder the optimal operation of devices during international travel. This creates challenges for customers who expect a seamless experience.
Increased Planning
Unable to rely on a single, universal connection, the company must plan more carefully. This can slow down processes and complicate expansion. Issues of data sovereignty and compliance may arise, requiring additional planning.
Who is affected by IoT Permanent Roaming?
Permanent roaming potentially impacts all stakeholders using cellular connectivity for their IoT devices. Even if you are not aware of it today, it’s possible that your devices are already roaming and may face compliance issues in the future.
Applications where devices truly travel between countries, like tracking maritime containers, are less at risk. However, the vast majority of IoT devices are affected, especially those deployed across multiple territories.
If you operate in a single country, your partner operator or MVNO is likely handling the situation adequately. However, if your fleet of devices is spread across multiple countries, it is crucial to ensure that your provider meets its obligations to ensure proper connectivity. In summary, permanent roaming is a topic that concerns you, even if its operation seems transparent to you.
Overcoming IoT Permanent Roaming Obstacles: Towards Borderless IoT Connectivity
Fortunately, several solutions allow for overcoming the issues related to permanent roaming. The key is to partner with a managed service provider that has partnerships with local mobile operators and MVNOs. Alternatively, direct relationships with mobile operators can be managed through aggregation platforms dedicated to connectivity.
Our HâpySIM Solution
Simplify cellular IoT connectivity with our latest M2M SIM card
eSIM (Embedded SIM)
eSIM is revolutionizing the IoT landscape. This technology equips devices with programmable SIM cards that can be remotely configured via radio link. With eSIM, IoT devices can switch between different mobile operators without the need for physical SIM card replacement, simplifying connectivity management.
By leveraging eSIM, it is possible to switch between a local profile and multiple roaming profiles every 90 days, thereby bypassing permanent roaming restrictions. Many managed service providers offer this solution to address the issue. New eSIM specifications dedicated to IoT will further simplify provisioning and connectivity orchestration.
Multi-IMSI (identité internationale de l'abonné mobile)
Multi-IMSI solutions allow a single physical SIM card to store multiple IMSIs from different mobile operators. This enables the device to seamlessly switch between networks while maintaining a single SIM card.
By intelligently selecting the optimal IMSI based on criteria such as network quality and cost, Multi-IMSI solutions optimize connectivity and reduce operational complexity. However, they require local presence or partnerships with the managed service provider.
Connectivity Management Platforms (CMP)
Connectivity management aggregation platforms (CMPs) act as intermediaries between IoT device owners and various mobile operators. These platforms provide a single interface to manage connectivity, provisioning, billing, and reporting across multiple networks. By consolidating these tasks, aggregation platforms simplify the management of permanent roaming for IoT devices. New players like IOTM and ConnectedYou are targeting businesses rather than mobile operators to address the challenge of managing multiple networks.
Dynamic Network Selection Algorithms
Some aggregation platforms offer dynamic network selection algorithms. These intelligent algorithms can be integrated into IoT devices to choose the most suitable network in real-time based on parameters like signal strength, latency, and cost.
Our Conclusion on IoT Permanent Roaming
In the era of global IoT expansion, the challenges related to permanent roaming are growing. Fortunately, innovative solutions such as eSIM, Multi-IMSI, aggregation platforms, and dynamic network selection algorithms are effectively mitigating these obstacles. These solutions not only streamline connectivity management but also optimize profitability and operational efficiency for IoT deployments.
The key? Select a strategic partner like Hapy Services, which provides a range of services that significantly simplify connectivity management for your IoT devices.
