Why the choice of SIMs is critical for cellular bonding
by Guy Neumann
Cellular connectivity is one of the most universal connectivity options for various applications across multiple verticals. From factory floors to telemedicine, cellular networks connect billions of devices. With the evolvement of 4G and 5G networks, high-speed internet became available even in remote locations, which made possible almost any connectivity scenario with any type of data and equipment.
But for certain applications, it may not be enough to simply have a connection. Some use cases have very strict requirements such as constantly high data speeds or guaranteed network stability – for example, live video broadcasting from the Paris Olympics.
Several factors can affect cellular reception and available bandwidth: network congestion, the distance from cellular antenna towers, physical obstructions like hills, buildings and dense vegetation, weather conditions, and for indoor use cases – even the materials used in building construction.
To ensure stable connectivity and high bandwidth and overcome the limitation of a single network connection, enterprises employ a technology called cellular bonding.
Cellular Bonding
The technology that combines two or more cellular connections to provide better stability and more bandwidth has become more common in the last decade. Cellular bonding devices utilize multiple SIM cards, often from different carriers or different bands from the same carrier. They can include 4G, 5G, or even 3G connections, depending on the available networks in the area. The device aggregates the data from all active cellular connections, effectively combining their bandwidth into a single virtual data stream, which allows to increase overall data speeds and reliability.
The bonding device also manages the traffic across these multiple connections, dynamically balancing data between them depending on signal strength, network congestion, latency or other factors. This ensures that data is always sent over the best available connection, optimizing performance. If one connection fails or experiences poor performance, the bonding device can shift traffic to other connections in real time, providing redundancy and maintaining a continuous connection without disruption. Some advanced systems also have error correction techniques to compensate for network packet loss.
Most often cellular bonding is applied for high-quality, uninterrupted live broadcasts from sports events or breaking news, especially in locations where wired internet access may be unreliable or unavailable. By 2022, most American regional TV stations said bonded cellular was used for about 80% of their news coverage. Even if it’s not live broadcasting, journalists often rely on this technology to upload large video files from remote areas.
Media & entertainment is not the only field of application for it. In disaster zones and emergency situations, cellular bonding allows first responders or aid workers to maintain communication by using multiple cellular networks, ensuring connectivity even when some networks are down or overloaded. Sometimes it is used in telemedicine and teledriving, as well as in any situation where a stable, high-speed internet connection is needed in areas with weak or spotty network coverage.
Why is SIM important?
The SIMs used in a cellular bonding device directly influence the performance and reliability of the connection, affecting coverage, speed, cost efficiency and many other aspects of it.
Typically, SIMs from different carriers are utilized. This is done to improve network reliability and coverage, so if one carrier’s network is down, congested or unavailable in a specific area, the device can switch to another mobile operator’s SIM. Also, different carriers support different frequency bands (e.g., 4G or 5G), and some areas may have better coverage with specific bands. By using multiple SIMs, the bonding device can access a wider range of network bands, optimizing speed and connectivity.
Some SIMs allow for international roaming or guarantee coverage in regions where other carriers might have limited service. This can be especially beneficial for broadcasting from remote locations.
Besides, different SIMs come with various data plans and costs, and which may be more important in the context of cellular bonding – speed limits. Choosing the right SIMs can help optimize the cost and performance of the bonding device, ensuring the best value for the data needs. However, this may mean contracting with multiple carriers in every region where connectivity is needed.
But there are also other important requirements like latency, which depends on the operator’s core network architecture. It can be particularly crucial for teledriving or first responders due to safety reasons, but is very important in many other cases. For instance, in live broadcasting that may require remote production that can add further latency when switching between multiple live feeds, mixing in commentator audio and video, or adding graphics.
With different SIM options to choose from, SIM capabilities are critical, too. The most illustrative example is what happens if one of the networks used by a bonding device is down for some reason. With a regular SIM, data speed will be limited to what is left from all other SIMs in the device. With an eSIM capable of switching between different profiles, however, the device will connect to the best available network and use it instead of the malfunctioning one.
That’s why for every scenario that implies cellular bonding it’s important to consider not only the characteristics of cellular networks and necessary bonding devices, but also SIM capabilities that could ensure both flexibility and robust reliable connection.
Webbing’s Solution
Webbing offers a connectivity solution that ensures global access to reliable and high-quality internet, with low latency and the best of class coverage. It provides secure and continuous internet connection for devices on the move, wherever they need it.
As a global MVNO, Webbing’s network of 600+ mobile operators guarantee world-wide coverage. It allows to roam on several carriers’ network in every region, solving the problem of weak spots that any mobile network may have and ensuring full coverage and continuous connectivity for broadcasting production teams even at remote locations.
A distributed core network with local breakouts, multiple network solution, and data server redundancy helps Webbing provide stable connection, high data throughput and low latency to all roaming devices. It also ensures consistent bandwidth and a reliable connection for devices that use cellular bonding technology, allowing for flawless 5G 4K HEVC live streaming and remote production.
Our eSIM solution ensures failover connectivity with the capability of using multiple mobile carrier profiles, easily changing carriers at any time with zero integration, and an option to fall back from a failing profile to a different profile without any need to communicate with a remote server or deal with multiple SIM cards.
A flexible approach to data packages allows us to tailor our connectivity offering for every customer based on the type of connected devices and their data consumption needs as well as the locations where the devices are used, aiming at overall optimization of the total cost of operations for the client. We also do not throttle or restrict data at any level but enable the capability for customers to throttle as they see applicable with our on-demand usage control policies and further features to control usage with content filtering options.
Our solutions help enterprises overcome their connectivity problems and optimize costs for global deployments, providing the benefits of roaming with multiple carrier options in every country, and seamless transition between carriers, while maintaining low rates and low latency on a global scale with a single SIM.
Reach out to learn more about our connectivity solutions.
