GuideWireless & IoT · 6 min
How do we connect thousands of IoT devices without getting locked to one carrier?
Choose SIMs or eSIM profiles that can switch carriers remotely, manage every device from one console, and price per device with data pooled across the fleet.
The Clectiv team ·
Once a device ships, its SIM is hard to change. Pick the wrong connectivity and you're stuck with one carrier's coverage and prices for the life of the device. Decide how devices switch networks before the first one leaves the warehouse.
eSIM, multi-carrier SIM or one carrier: what's the difference?#
It's how your devices change networks after they ship. With one carrier's SIM, they can't. A multi-carrier SIM roams between the networks its provider can reach. An eSIM can download a new carrier's profile over the air.
| Option | How devices change networks | Coverage | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| One carrier's SIM | They don't. Changing carriers means swapping SIMs. | That carrier's network | Devices stay in one country, in places one carrier covers well. |
| Multi-carrier SIM | The SIM roams onto several networks on its own. | Every network the SIM provider can reach | Devices move around, or go where coverage varies. |
| eSIM | A new carrier's profile downloads to the device, remotely. | Whichever carrier profile is loaded | Devices last for years, and you want the option to switch. |
eSIM for IoT got a standard of its own. In May 2023 the GSMA, the mobile industry's standards body, published SGP.32: an eSIM specification for devices with no screen and no person to set them up. The plan asks each one whether its eSIM supports it.
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all sell IoT connectivity on their own networks. Granite sells multi-carrier SIMs, physical or eSIM. These are wireless and IoT providers we bring to the table, and Clectiv AI runs the process with them for you: start a project.
Before you call anyone#
Write the fleet into Clectiv AI first; the carriers can wait. Clectiv AI then runs the process, putting it out to bid with the providers that fit so they compete, and you choose. Call one first and you get its SIM, its network and its price for the life of every device.
What drives the per-device price?#
Data per device moves it most, and pooling decides whether you pay for data you don't use. Write these down with Clectiv AI before anyone bids:
- Data per device, per month. A sensor sending one reading an hour uses almost nothing. A camera streaming video uses a lot.
- Pooling. One allowance shared across the fleet, so quiet devices cover busy ones. Without it, every device pays for its own unused data.
- Countries. Where devices live and travel. Roaming changes the price.
- Volume. How many devices, and how fast you'll add them.
- Activation and idle devices. What it costs to turn a device on, and whether devices sitting in a warehouse get billed.
- Network type. LTE-M and NB-IoT are built for low-power devices that send a little data. 4G and 5G carry more, and cost more.
- Platform fees. The console, the API and support.
- Term. Longer terms usually buy a lower price per device.
Dial in the data number before you bid. Measure real devices in the field for a few weeks if you can. Guess high and you pay for data you never use, and guess low and you pay overage.
You don't start from scratch. Clectiv AI runs the process we've run for companies like yours, so you start where they ended up. The plan goes straight to the providers that fit: start a project.
What should every IoT proposal answer?#
One fleet plan: devices, countries, data per device and rollout dates. It goes to the providers that fit, and each one answers it:
- Coverage where your devices actually go, tested on real devices, not shown on a map.
- Price per device at your data use, with the pooling rules and what overage costs.
- How switching works: roaming, eSIM profile changes, and who controls them.
- Network shutdowns. When the networks your devices use are scheduled to retire, and what the provider does about it.
Clectiv AI's plan asks the rest, from the console and security to support. If some devices sit far from any cell tower, satellite (LEO, low Earth orbit) can fill the gap, and the plan says which.
Your plan sets the fleet, so every proposal prices the same thing. Then the cheapest one really is the cheapest.
Common questions#
What's the difference between eSIM and a multi-carrier SIM?#
How is IoT connectivity priced?#
Can we switch carriers after our devices ship?#
What is SGP.32?#
What about devices with no cell coverage?#
How does Clectiv AI get this done?#
Open Clectiv AI first. Tell it how many devices you're shipping and where they'll go. It scopes the project with you and writes your plan: what devices are out there, who manages them, and what the rollout looks like.
Then the Clectiv team takes your plan to the carriers and IoT connectivity providers that fit, all at once, through our partner network of 620+ providers. Real bids come back, the providers compete for your business, the team pushes on terms, and you choose.
Companies like yours made this climb before. Clectiv AI runs the process we've run for them, so you start where they finished. The providers that fit get the plan directly, and you get the best pricing, terms and contract we can.
It's free to you, and it moves in days, not months. The rest of what we source in wireless and IoT is on the wireless and IoT page.
Phones costing too much as well? Read how to fix a corporate mobile bill.
Sources and method. No prices appear in this guide. The IoT eSIM standard is the GSMA's, named in the text. Provider names are examples of who sells IoT connectivity, from Clectiv's provider directory, not a ranking.
- GSMA, SGP.32 eSIM IoT Technical Specification (first published May 2023)