No more missing drivers
UK flagship telco BT has gone live with its IoT National Roaming SIMs scheme, which aims to create continuity of coverage for businesses by letting their devices hop on any available network as they traverse the country. As BT explained in a release, the IoT national roaming SIMs will allow smart devices to connect to mobile networks, ensuring they stay connected while on the move or in remote locations. BT’s IoT national roaming SIMs will connect devices to BT-owned EE as a primary connection but the SIM can connect to multiple other major UK networks, helping to keep smart devices online.
The rollout of BT’s new service is set to benefit courier and delivery companies in particular by giving them reliable, fast network access no matter where they are – whether in cities, rural areas, or by the coast. Last week EE announced the arrival of 5G to 500 new, predominantly rural locations, bringing the total number of UK cities, towns and villages where customers can access the service to over 1,000. Meanwhile EE’s 4G network coverage is on track to reach 90% of the UK’s geographic landmass by 2025.
The new IoT service will help end users such as drivers and delivery workers improve accuracy and efficiency by giving them access to important information in real-time. An example of this would be providing visibility of fuel efficiency, changes to a delivery schedule and cold chain management so temperatures can be constantly monitored on a refrigerated vehicle. BT said it’s offering the product at the same price as its existing pay-as-you-use IoT SIM service, so businesses only pay for the data they use rather than risking underutilising data on a fixed rate.
“Businesses across the UK are increasingly using IoT devices to run operations,” said Marc Overton, MD of Division X at BT, “we’re making sure those connections stay strong no matter where business takes you.”