The wholesale carrier joined forces with tech provider Avnet Silica, which will embed 2G, 3G, 4G, NB-IoT and LTE-M/Cat-M1 connectivity via BICS’ global SIM for Things IoT solution.
Through BICS’ global network and eUICC technology, Avnet Silica’s customers will be able to connect its IoT devices to more than 700 mobile operators, and switch networks depending on quality and coverage.
The plan is this will accelerate the deployment of low power wide area networks (LPWAN) by solving many technical, operational and commercial challenges to help hardware manufacturers deploy new IoT solutions.
Fast manufacture
“Manufacturers can quickly benefit from NB-IoT/LTE-M technology, which lowers power consumption, eases provisioning, and creates new commercial opportunities,” said Guillaume Crinon, Global IoT Strategy Manager at Avnet.
Cyrille Saulet, Solution Sales Leader and eUICC Program Manager at Avnet Silica, commented: “Thanks to our work with BICS, we’re able to enhance our offering for OEMs and IoT partners, and ensure our customers can choose the best cellular connectivity requirements for their individual needs virtually anywhere in the world.
“The addition of LPWAN connectivity such as NB-IoT/LTE-M gives us a complete tool box to accelerate and expand IoT adoption, by being able to design smart and flexible connectivity solutions for our customers’ connected devices.”
Up a fifth
Gartner predicts by the end of this year there will be 5.8 billion enterprise and automotive IoT endpoints, a 21% increase from 2019. BICS and Avnet Silica’s partnership is the next step in facilitating deployment of IoT projects for enterprises, providing instant, secure connectivity for their devices.
“Our work with Avnet Silica demonstrates how BICS’ SIM for Things provides the global connectivity that OEMs and hardware manufacturers need to produce connected devices and solutions in a simple, reliable, flexible and cost effective manner,” explained Mikaël Schachne, CMO and VP Mobility & IoT at BICS. “Together we have created a future-proof IoT-as-a-service offering, which will make mass IoT a reality in the coming years.”
Mobile operators can also capitalise by providing connectivity to a greater range of devices, opening up their networks to support IoT demand. An increasing number of mobile operators have partnered BICS to support M2M connectivity as BICS offers NB-IoT/LTE-M connectivity in more than 30 countries.