The Problem:

What do you do if you’re manufacturing devices that require global connectivity? Devices are falling off assembly lines, shipment ready needing IoT connections across multiple territories at a price that will make them economically viable.

To minimise cost in the manufacturing and supply-chain process, businesses need to embed SIM cards at the point of manufacture, so shipping their products with connectivity already built-in.

The current in-country and roaming SIM options make this almost impossible due to the associated roaming charges. Not knowing where the device will end-up being used at the point of manufacture means it is impossible to forecast what the cost of connectivity will be.

The Solution:

Zest4’s global connectivity management platform and eSIM capabilities. By offering truly global coverage, through access to almost 500 local networks, the eSIM removes all complexity.

The Zest4 solution enables seamless, remote SIM provisioning allowing manufacturers to use a single SIM for the entire lifetime of a device, irrespective of location or what network connection is required.

What is an eSIM and how does it differ from a standard SIM?

eSIM literally stands for embedded SIM (or electronic SIM, depending on where you look) and both eSIM and SIM are compatible with the GSMA remote provisioning standards.

There are two ways in which a traditional SIM card can be connected. One will contract you in to one mobile network and the only way to change networks is to physically swap out the SIM. This is an inefficient and potentially very expensive process.

The other option is a roaming SIM that is contracted to one single network, but it allows the device to roam on to other networks. The challenge with this is the cost; roaming is very expensive and as you can’t guarantee the usage on each network it becomes cost prohibitive for most.

The Zest4 eSIM offers connectivity with any mobile network and gives the user the capability to remotely provision the SIM on to a local network instantly.

Via eSIM Zest4 offer you the capability of connecting a SIM to any network at any time using local rates.

How does it work?

We will provide you with a list of almost 500 networks worldwide, you can connect your customer’s SIM to either a single, or multiple networks, at the point the device goes live.

If the location or profile required for the end user changes you can simply change the list of networks that the SIM card can connect too over the air.

This means if your customer wants to switch to a new mobile network there is no need to change the SIM card, enter into the PAC process or see out a contract, it’s all done over the air and instantly.

So, as an IoT provider you will be able to provide your customers with a SIM for life that is future proofed and extremely cost-efficient.

Why will this be a benefit to businesses?

If your customer manufactures connected devices in one location but ships worldwide it means they only need one connectivity supplier irrespective of the county the device will be used in. They only need to stock one SIM card rather than multiple SKU’s which will simplify production and therefore reduce inventory costs.

If your customer has devices that are only supplied in one country it can still be a benefit as they have the choice of what network to put onto a SIM based on either customer choice or network coverage.

How many times have you had a call from a customer saying they are not happy with their current network and want to swap? With the eSIM you can do this instantly.

eSIM will be the biggest growth area of IoT and will allow more ‘things’ in more locations to be connected.

Remote provisioning makes it easier for enterprises to adapt quickly to changing business environments without the need for field visits and hardware changes.

Installing one SIM for all devices in all regions at the point of manufacture makes IoT deployments simpler and more cost effective to both manufacturer’s and end-users.

When considering an IoT deployment one of the key elements will be to keep the implementation as simple as possible, minimising the amount of networks you need to deal with and having all of this capability within one supplier is critical, the more you can do with each partner the better. This is why Zest4 have taken this solution on-board, we can offer a full end-to-end eSIM solutions to the channel.

To learn more about how Zest4 IoT can take all the pain away, please make contact today!