Out of the box: advances in IoT connectivity

Picture a remote location in a nature park deep in the Andes. A park warden has taken delivery of a new sensor and is on her way to install it on the windswept mountaintop that will be its home. The sensor is only required to transmit a warning if the temperature goes below a certain threshold at a certain time of year, when a rare species of bird is nesting there. If it were to be triggered, the park wardens would arrive and rescue the young chicks, who are too precious to be left entirely to the elements. 

The sensor has no access to electricity. It must be put in place by a warden who, while deeply skilled in her job, is probably not a network engineer. The sensor is only required at a specific time of the year and is only required to be triggered if a certain parameter is met. It doesn’t need to be online all the time. In fact, limiting its online time is the best-case scenario, by lengthening its life, conserving its battery, and saving on costly trips by the wardens to replace it. 

It’s a good thing that the warden has the exact device she needs. She takes it out of the box, places it where it belongs, and powers it on. It connects via smart bootstrap connectivity and downloads the final profile it needs without Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). It is now ready to do its job, which is to wait for the specific circumstance that will trigger it to occur. 

The warden goes on with the rest of her day, secure in the knowledge that the young chicks in her care are safe from harm, at least from bad weather. The IoT will do what is required. 

Innovations in IoT connectivity drive use cases

The development of use cases in the IoT is fueled by ongoing innovation across it. This is evident in how devices connect to the IoT as well.

A requirement now is that the device be ready to go, straight out of its box. This requirement is felt across diverse fields, from telematics and fleet management to low-usage sensors and in smart cities, as they grow. 

However, depending on the use case, there can be different approaches to how the issue of “out-of-the-box” IoT connectivity is resolved. What is a given is that the industry is demanding devices that 

1. are simpler to install and start, and
2. use more streamlined processes to manage them. 

This is particularly relevant to the growth of the massive IoT, which can be seen as the orchestration of a very large number of connected devices – such as sensors – through sophisticated connectivity and the best data processing. The explosive growth of the massive IoT requires both the criteria above to be fulfilled.

Different approaches to out-of-the-box connectivity

A huge number of IoT devices are “headless,” meaning they have neither keyboards or displays. There isn’t much the person on the spot can do to connect them to the IoT. In this scenario, connectivity needs to be enabled via a central management platform. 

One way this works is via bootstrap connectivity. A bootstrap-connectivity-enabled device usually ships with an initial eSIM profile that lets it connect to the first available network when it is turned on, and a location-optimized subscription is then downloaded and activated. 

“Smart” bootstrap is a variation where the device connects to a back-end system to request a temporary subscription, enabling either final profile download or short-term data use. This is dynamic subscription allocation. In both cases, costs are saved and processes streamlined. “Out-of-the-box connectivity is great for both device manufacturers and end users,” said Sönke Schröder, Director of Global Go-to-Market Strategy and Innovation at G+D. “It addresses a pressing need, and unlocks further use cases for devices that are rarely or never used, such as fire alarms. The potential is practically limitless.” 

Time-limited connectivity

Among other devices, smart meters and smart sensors across various fields and uses require that they be installed with a minimum of fuss. Increasingly, they’re not required to be online all the time. In fact, efficiency dictates that they only be online when they’re required. This is time-limited connectivity, for example in the case of a fire alarm as mentioned above, or a V16 emergency beacon integrated with geolocation, which will be mandatory for automobiles in Spain from January 2026.¹ 

A device of this sort typically needs only a few minutes online every day to transmit its data, or only when absolutely required, as is the case with an emergency beacon. Clearly there is an operational gain to be had from limiting its online time. However, this requires efficient management, so its operation is streamlined, thus saving on power and connectivity, while prolonging the device’s active life.

Remote provisioning and IFPP

Many devices in the IoT need to be provisioned remotely through a push mechanism. Since the existing protocols weren’t tailored to the IoT’s specific needs until relatively recently, this wasn’t the most efficient process. However, the SGP.32 protocol provides the most up to-date enabling of remote loading, activation, and management of eSIM subscriptions of IoT devices. This new protocol is enabling the IoT to take its next steps in the most efficient way.

Remote SIM provisioning (RSP) isn’t always an option, however, as it uses precious battery power to provision the device over the air (OTA). In-factory profile provisioning (IFPP) is a scalable alternative that meets the demands of devices across the IoT.

Your everyday IoT management solution

All these approaches and technical solutions help devices function more seamlessly, in a user- and business-friendly manner that unlocks the enterprise potential of the IoT. However, these advances depend upon there being a management platform that provides connectivity, dynamically allocates the best subscription, limits time spent online, and so on. This software is effectively the heart and mind of the entire system, and it must function to the highest specifications. 

The AirOn360^® IoT Suite is G+D’s unified connectivity management platform. It supports all the IoT scenarios, including RSP, and enables connectivity management across the IoT, enabling in-field management via SGP.32.

AirOn360^® Intelligent Online (IO) enables smart bootstrap connectivity and provides time-limited connectivity for infrequently used devices. “Putting AirOn360^® IO in place allows connectivity-related costs to be significantly reduced,” pointed out Schröder. “It provides an efficient, scalable way to connect devices – especially those with intermittent usage – helping manufacturers and service providers optimize connectivity without compromising on security or flexibility.”

AirOn360^® IO is backed by G+D’s background and technical expertise across connectivity and digital security. As a global leader in SecurityTech and connectivity, we have the reach and know-how to be the partner you need for all your IoT needs.