- Extends full control over which mobile networks devices use around the world
- Combines global multi-carrier network access with remote provisioning capabilities
Twilio, the leading cloud communications platform, today announced an expansion of the company’s IoT portfolio by offering Super SIM®, the leading cellular IoT connectivity platform, as an eSIM Consumer Profile for eUICC-enabled IoT devices.
When IoT fleet managers need to switch network providers – whether that’s to expand to new regions or improve reliability and uptime – physically swapping SIM cards is a costly and cumbersome task. Twilio’s support of the eSIM standard allows companies to load Twilio’s multi-carrier Super SIM profile onto their devices over-the-air, in addition to eSIM profiles from other providers, and then switch between the different SIM profiles as needed. This eliminates the need to physically interact with the devices, all while improving the end user experience by delivering best-in-class IoT connectivity.
eSIMs alone require integration with multiple carriers for each SIM profile, therefore requiring IoT builders to manage several carrier relationships and deal with varied bills and complex technical differences. Twilio’s Super SIM has solved this problem by providing multiple subscriber identities on a single SIM (and now a single eSIM profile) and autonomously switching them, based on which country the device is in – all while offering customers full control over which networks to use. Twilio Super SIM’s multi-carrier approach – with one simple bill for all and only one cellular IoT vendor relationship to manage – enables seamless global deployments, and consistent network behavior across all 300+ supported networks, which significantly reduces development and integration effort. To IoT devices, Twilio’s cellular solution essentially behaves like one gigantic global network with one simple API and the same behavior everywhere.
Businesses that have already begun adopting eSIM can now bring the benefits of Twilio Super SIM to their IoT devices by downloading a Super SIM eSIM profile onto their existing eSIM hardware. Twilio’s multi-carrier approach paired with the new support for eSIM/eUICC provides innovative flexibility for enterprises deploying IoT devices internally and solution providers selling B2B or B2C IoT solutions to the market.
“We’re excited to expand Relay’s coverage by adding Twilio’s Super SIM as an eSIM profile,” said Matt Newton, senior vice president of hardware at Relay, makers of smart walkie-talkies for frontline teams.
“Using Twilio’s robust API, we can download the Super SIM profile over-the-air to our fleet of devices and then use the firmware on our devices to switch profiles dynamically. That depth of control enables us to provide the highest quality connectivity and gives our customers an incredible experience with our product.”
eSIMs in general are ideally suited for devices that stay in use for many years – such as wearables, medical devices and home automation systems – where the lifetime of the device is much longer than commercial agreements with connectivity providers. They are commonly used when the cost of swapping the SIM is expensive, for example to recall an automobile back to the dealer to swap a SIM. eSIMs are also becoming the technology of choice for those devices that can’t be easily opened to swap out SIMs, as is the case with wearables, or those that can’t be easily accessed, including billboards, air quality, or forest fire monitors.
“There are essentially 2 types of eSIM profiles in the market today: Consumer Profiles, and Machine to Machine (M2M) Profiles. While the latter was originally intended to cater to IoT, we believe Consumer Profiles are in most cases a much better fit for IoT devices,” said Vijay Devarapalli, principal product manager at Twilio IoT. “While M2M Profiles require additional infrastructure elements, Consumer Profiles allow customers to lower their operational effort and reduce their dependency on vendors for cellular IoT.”
