Industry
Energy & Utilities
Challenges
As they scaled their cellular IIoT solutions like the Ranger product line, SignalFire faced growing operational complexity from manual processes, single-carrier limitations, global management challenges, and time-intensive troubleshooting as a result of a fragmented network technology landscape.
Results
By partnering with Zipit, SignalFire was able to eliminate the need for direct contracts/custom integrations with multiple MNOs, streamline connectivity management and bridge gaps in areas without low-power feature availability.
Zipit Solutions Used
IoT Connectivity Services, Connectivity Management Platform
"The Zipit team's cellular expertise and responsive customer support have been nothing short of exceptional. We couldn't ask for a better partner to help us deliver on our mission of enabling smarter, more connected industrial systems."
About SignalFire Telemetry Inc.
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, SignalFire Telemetry specializes in the design and manufacture of low-powered industrial solutions, revolutionizing the way sensing, controlling, and monitoring are conducted without the constraints of wires.
SignalFire's products are designed to be durable, certified for tough environments, and enable long-distance wireless communication.
The Challenge
A leader in industrial telemetry, SignalFire has scaled their business to thousands of devices deployed across the globe and serving various use cases, including Agriculture, Oil & Gas, and Utilities.
As they grew their IoT deployments, they faced growing operational complexity exacerbated by manual processes, single-carrier limitations, multi-carrier integrations, and opaque connectivity troubleshooting in the context of a fragmented cellular technology landscape.
The team at SignalFire realized that continuing with the status quo was unsustainable at scale.
"One of the challenges of these remote deployments is: we initially started with a single carrier SIM, which is great where they have coverage, but no carrier has coverage everywhere.
I knew that we couldn't continue by ourselves, entering contracts with each carrier. It just wasn't really feasible at the scale we are at, and to take that all on ourselves."
- Josh Schadel, General Manager & CTO, SignalFire Telemetry
The Solution
The SignalFire team partnered with Zipit Wireless to streamline connectivity operations and enable global scalability:
- Multi-Carrier Support: Zipit acts as the single-source provider for multiple mobile network operators (MNOs) like AT&T and Bell across different geographies, eliminating the need for SignalFire to individually contract with each mobile operator or perform custom integrations with each MNO's SIM activation platforms with their unique requirements. In addition to a powerful platform, Zipit streamlines this global complexity with additional benefits to SignalFire like a single contract and easy-to-follow calendar-based billing. This single, global partner approach enables faster time-to-market when SignalFire expands its offerings into new regions.
- Unified Connectivity Management: Zipit's Connectivity Management Platform provides a single pane of glass to monitor cellular data usage and to manage SIM lifecycles across carriers, network technologies, and geographies. SignalFire can use a single platform that standardizes workflows whether they're activating an AT&T SIM, Bell SIM, or any other of Zipit's MNO partnerships.
- High-Touch Partnership: SignalFire consults Zipit's deep cellular expertise and leverages our responsive support to navigate the fragmentation of the global cellular market, and other real-world connectivity challenges for devices in the field.
"We're using Bell SIMs in Canada, and then AT&T Global SIMs in a number of other regions, and having all of that on a unified platform - we can manage the SIMs together.
It really allows us to scale out into these other markets without spending all this time integrating each carrier's specific requirements into our system."
The Results
Since first engaging with Zipit, SignalFire has been able to deploy its IoT devices into new regions faster and with less operational complexity. By leveraging Zipit's multi-carrier connectivity and agreements, they ensure they have better coverage even in remote areas. And, they've tapped into Zipit's experience and strategic MNO relationships to help navigate issues where ultra-low-power networks like NB-IoT or low-power features like eDRX may not be available, and come up with effective resolutions that don't limit SignalFire's ability to scale.
"We were looking for a platform where we could bring coverage from multiple carriers onto a single solution, and that's what Zipit offered us."
Watch the video below to hear Josh Schadel, General Manager and CTO at SignalFire Telemetry, talk about the partnership with Zipit and the impact it's had on their business.
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