After months of preparation we are introducing a new Freely Roaming SIM (FR SIM) for our Alarm Signalling communicators. Generally, SIMs are provided by one of the networks and extra charges are incurred for “roaming” to other networks. SIMs for data are available with roaming built-in but will prefer to connect to the network of the provider. This gives problems in some areas where the home network is poor, giving rise to unreliability in performance.
Provided by Telit IoT Connectivity, the new FR SIM will connect to any UK network choosing the best signal that it finds, regardless of which network it is connecting to. This is technically known as a non-steering SIM and will provide Terrier Alarm Signalling communicators with greater reliability in areas that are not well covered by all networks. Good for our customers and less day-to-day management for us!
We have had to make changes to software in both our communicators and in our receivers to accommodate the FR SIM and this has inspired changes in the way the GPRS signalling path is managed. Firstly, we have improved the time taken to recognise a fault. This is known as the Reporting Time in European Standards and varies according to the Security Grade. Secondly, we have optimised data usage to manage the cost of network charges. Putting these all together means:
- Fewer “not spots” with the Freely Roaming SIM
- Faster fault reporting times for most security grades
- Fantastically low network charges for all security grades
We have done our initial round of performance testing, soak testing and are now moving to Beta testing with one of our monitoring centre partners. They are well aware of areas where network selection is an issue and we will be closely monitoring performance of their early deployments. Once we have assessed the feedback, we will roll out the new software and FR SIMs to all our customers.
Do you use mobile data for alarm signalling? Do you get Roaming SIMs and have issues with them? If you would like to know more about Terrier SC’s products and services, please get in touch.
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