Two-in-one SIM offers network redundancy for IoT devices

A new partnership between Deutsche Telekom, IoT managed connectivity provider Tele2, and CSL Group subsidiary rSIM will bring multi-network connectivity to the IoT, allowing for more robust and resilient connectivity in mission-critical applications.

The idea behind rSIM – which stands for “resilient SIM,” according to the vendors – is relatively simple. Two independent mobile operator profiles can be stored on a single SIM card, and the rSIM module can monitor each network for outages, ensuring that IoT devices remain connected even if there’s a problem on the primary provider’s network.

In addition, rSIM offers a connectivity management platform that allows for real-time connectivity tests from each SIM on the network, regardless of which network the SIM is currently operating on.

The impetus for rSIM came from the increasing importance of IoT, and its use in increasingly critical tasks, according to the press release: “As mobile network operators … invest in upgrading their core networks away from 2G and 3G, to 4G and 5G, periods of unplanned downtime have become more prevalent. A 12-hour network outage in November 2023 affected over 10 million individuals, resulting in a collapse in the Australian health service and shutting down entire train networks.”

It’s a timely announcement, according to Paul Hughes, a research director at IDC. He said that multiaccess networks are already a key part of the strategy for network architects, particularly those running critical IoT implementations like those in the mining and extraction industries, healthcare and transportation.

“I think about health and safety as being one of those critical areas for organizations where having connectivity can be a matter of life and death,” said Hughes. “So multi-access networking becomes such a critical part of ensuring businesses operations are effective, and customers and employees are safe.”

Reached by email, a spokesperson for rSIM said that the team has planned for general availability of the rSIM devices in June 2024, but declined to comment on pricing, beyond noting that the cost would be “marginally more expensive than a standard IoT roaming SIM,” due to the 2-in-1 nature of the product. The initial release will be dependent on obtaining partnerships with mobile network operators, with Austria’s Magenta, DT-IoT Global SIM, Tele2 Sweden and Tele2 Estonia signed up already. The spokesperson didn’t share any information about US partners.

That’s likely to be a key underpinning of rSIM’s appeal in the North American market, noted Hughes. “The success of this is going to be reliant on getting buy-in from all the service providers in a region,” he said.