by Webbing Team
Cellular networks are one of the best ways to achieve global connectivity because they combine wide coverage, seamless interoperability, scalability, reliability, and security. Whether for enterprise mobility applications or IoT deployments, they provide a flexible and cost-effective solution to ensure continuous global communication. However, achieving true global connectivity comes with its own set of challenges.
By understanding these challenges and the innovative solutions available, businesses can navigate the complexities of global connectivity and unlock its full potential. In this article, we will explore the hurdles that remain, and the ways in which Webbing’s solutions are helping to overcome them.
What is global connectivity?
Overall, the concept of global connectivity implies that devices or systems can connect to each other from any location on the planet. In the context of cellular networks, global connectivity refers to the ability of connected devices, both user mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets and IoT devices, to maintain communication and data transfer across the world, regardless of the network operator or country. This is made possible through a combination of mobile networks, international agreements, and roaming services.
Who can benefit from global connectivity?
Enterprises that operate globally can ensure their employees and devices stay connected wherever they travel, improving productivity and operational continuity.
For businesses that deploy IoT use cases across multiple countries, global cellular connectivity ensures that their devices, sensors, and equipment can remain connected no matter where they are located, enabling real-time monitoring and data exchange.
There are also moving devices such as connected cars or drones, and global connectivity enables real-time data exchange and remote control, allowing these devices to function more effectively, safely, and autonomously.
Global Connectivity Challenges
While offering immense benefits like seamless communication and data sharing across borders, global cellular connectivity faces several significant hurdles that must be addressed to enable truly global service.
Coverage Gaps
One of the most obvious hurdles is that although cellular networks are omnipresent, their coverage is unevenly distributed. While large urban areas typically enjoy reliable cellular coverage from multiple operators, rural or remote regions may experience weaker or limited services from some of them, affecting global connectivity. Besides, each operator’s network inevitably has its weak spots, even in densely populated areas, so it is critical that global connectivity solutions make it possible to use multiple networks.
It is particularly important for connected devices that move from one region to another, such as connected vehicles. Although cellular connectivity is the best option for them because of its ubiquitous reach and global viability, solving coverage issues could be a serious challenge for OEMs that ship connected cars to multiple markets. Getting continuous coverage in every region requires contracting with several mobile operators and physically changing SIMs, which is often impossible due to logistics and technical reasons. With the emergence of eSIM and its remote provisioning capabilities the latter problem was somewhat alleviated, but ensuring that the vehicle remains connected wherever it goes remains a pain point for car manufacturers.
Webbing’s network of 600+ mobile operators guarantees worldwide coverage and allows to roam on several carriers’ networks in every region, solving the problem of weak spots that any mobile network may have and ensuring full coverage and continuous connectivity even at remote locations.
Roaming Costs
Another challenge is roaming costs. International roaming fees can be high if not managed properly, and these costs can vary widely between countries and operators.
Many telecom providers offer international plans to reduce roaming fees, but users must carefully manage their data usage and understand the costs. Transparent billing systems that gives customers the ability to monitor usage in real time can also help mitigate this challenge.
Some mobile operators offer flat-rate international roaming packages, where users pay a fixed price for a certain amount of data, text, and voice services, regardless of which country they are in. Others provide a daily charge for international roaming, which covers a specific amount of service per day, and once the limit is reached, they may incur additional charges. However, these plans are not universally available and can still be quite expensive depending on the country. Furthermore, these packages may have limitations, such as reduced speeds or restrictions on data usage.
To optimize costs and make sure the deployment is profitable in the long run, global connectivity providers should provide both technical and business support, taking into account the context in which businesses deploy IoT devices and use connectivity.
Webbing’s 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.
Compliance with Regulations
International roaming may raise concerns about data privacy and security, as data may pass through multiple networks and jurisdictions with varying levels of protection. Each country or region has its own laws and rules regarding wireless communication, data privacy, and device certification. Many countries have laws that restrict data from being transferred outside their borders, known as data sovereignty laws. Varying regulations affect how data is collected, stored, and shared, making compliance challenging for companies with global operations.
To be able to deal with this complex regulatory environment, any global connectivity provider needs to implement robust compliance programs and data protection measures and work closely with local regulators to ensure adherence to all applicable rules.
Webbing’s solutions help to comply with all kinds of regulatory requirements, be it preventing traffic from leaving the country’s borders, using local IMSI or full localization. Technology and infrastructure-wise, Webbing is capable of forming any architecture required by local legislation. Our eSIM solution allows for remote provisioning and a swap between profiles, easily turning it into any operator’s SIM.
Webbing’s Global Connectivity Solution
Webbing offers global connectivity services that ensure access to reliable and high-quality internet, with low latency and the best of class coverage. It provides secure and continuous internet connection, delivering a streamlined, centralized, and scalable means of deploying, controlling and monitoring all kinds of devices at any location and any SIM form factor with full Remote SIM Provisioning services capabilities included.
Webbing is a global connectivity provider, with a distributed full-core network with local breakouts and data server redundancy that can provide connectivity stability and low latency. As such, Webbing’s network is well suited to support all kinds of use cases, including mission-critical, high-data consumption scenarios. It also allows for all types of localization – from IP traffic that remains in the country to designated profiles for emergency calls, so it’s easy to comply with local and regional connectivity regulation requirements. Webbing can seamlessly localize deployments utilizing Remote SIM Provisioning even in heavily regulated markets.
Our solutions help enterprises overcome their connectivity problems and reduce time to market 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 Webbing’s global connectivity
