Cutting out the IoT roaming middleman

The internet of things (IoT) has slowly but surely changed our world, the way we live and the way we work. IoT devices are all around us, transforming our industries, changing our routines and the interactions between us, improving our comfort and even our security.

Billions of connected smart devices run aspects of our homes, schools, offices, businesses and cities behind the scenes. They can also generate new revenue streams for many kinds of businesses, not least telecom operators.

As IoT providers grow globally, IoT devices are deployed beyond borders and across multiple telecom operators’ networks. The IoT industry needs global connectivity, and to secure this, its providers leverage an already long-standing and intricate mesh of international wholesale agreements between telecom operators, which was originally built to allow subscribers to roam between networks.

IoT roaming today

When an IoT device is located within a telecom network different to the network to which the IoT provider subscribed, that IoT device is effectively “roaming”. If static, the IoT device is in a state of “permanent roaming”.

IoT roaming means devices can be difficult to monitor and even more difficult to commercialise. IoT providers use the resources of the networks they “visit” but seldom compensate them. Their connectivity is agreed with their home network, and secured thanks to the roaming agreements that network has with all other networks. International roaming agreements are generally geared towards human roaming activities, not that of IoT devices. The home networks are therefore compensated by the IoT providers for the use of resources that are not theirs.

The way global IoT is supported today is opaque and unfair for everyone. Network infrastructure owners have little to no visibility of the IoT traffic on their network, and as the choice of visited network is left to their home provider, IoT providers do not control what networks their devices use, or the level of quality they might need for their services.

As IoT traffic grows, this situation is only set to get worse.

IoT roaming tomorrow

IoT providers may well be satisfied with their current network reach, but this state of affairs will likely be short-lived. The visited roaming partners of the home operators are increasingly aware that their networks are being misused, free of charge. But rather than trying to block permanent roaming, they will find ways to be part of that revenue stream, which will likely trigger the collapse of current business models.

As new players emerge and the importance of IoT grows within the international telecom industry, the whole ecosystem is changing. Established players will adopt new commercial models catering for the new roaming traffic generated by IoT devices. Visited network operators will want the use of their infrastructure by IoT devices to be paid for, and IoT providers will want to be in control of their own global network footprint strategy.

For the larger, more global IoT providers, this ultimately means cutting out the middleman and working with the network operators of their choice, through the establishment of international roaming agreements.

Transparency, control and simplification

Transparency for all parties is critical for the growth of the global IoT industry. IoT providers should work directly with the networks where they need to deploy their devices, rather than through proxies, so that their specific demands can be met. The visited network operators, in turn, will benefit from this direct relationship by being able to monitor and forecast the use of their infrastructure.

IoT providers, like any traditional mobile operator, need multiple network partners in any market where they want to establish coverage, for redundancy as well as negotiation power. They need to control what network should be preferred and how they distribute their traffic across networks. The visited network operators need to control what IoT traffic they welcome so they can design their IoT strategy.

IoT providers should compensate the visited network operators based on fair wholesale negotiations, rather than arbitrary charges set by proxies which don’t bear the cost of infrastructure, and the visited network operators should be the ones to monetise the associated traffic.

For IoT providers and network operators to work with each other, new business models catering for the specifics of IoT traffic need to be implemented. This implies a transformation of clearing and settlement processes between parties towards simpler processes that allow flexibility and better cash flow.

Comfone’s contribution

Comfone has been championing this transformation at GSM Association level and is at the forefront of the propagation of new standards that will allow all parties in the booming IoT industry to reap the rewards of their participation.

With its core international roaming services, Comfone can pinpoint any IoT traffic on any network and identify who is generating it, enabling anyone in the newly emerging ecosystem to work with each other in a way that is transparent, fair and good for business.

Establishing themselves as an operator who can roam with network providers might sound like a complex and challenging prospect for any IoT provider. The Key2roam Platform has been developed as a one-stop shop for international roaming services, enabling new entrants to seize control of their global network strategy. Comfone’s Key2roam Hub, a community of more than 480 operators, has no equal and is the obvious industry answer to any enterprise looking at ways to accelerate the deployment of its global network partner footprint.

Comfone enables IoT companies to enter the international roaming industry with their own strategy, in a simple and fully consolidated way, enabling new business models that are fair to all parties. And with the largest international footprint when it comes to networks, the challenge for IoT providers of securing relationships with a global community of operators is made so much simpler.

If you want to know more about how Comfone can help you with international IoT deployment, email sales.operations@comfone.com  

About Comfone

Comfone is a market leader in international roaming services, with the mission to provide borderless and easy communications to all people and all things. Within the international roaming industry, Comfone is unique for the breadth of its portfolio, the Key2roam Platform, and for the reach of its international roaming hub, the Key2roam Hub. The company supplies a complete portfolio of all services needed for the establishment of an international roaming footprint, across technologies and specialities, including IPX services for connectivity, Data Clearing and Financial Clearing for settlement between roaming partners, as well as Big Data Management Service and applications for the identification, the monitoring and hence the monetisation of all kinds of roaming traffic.