Global cellular connectivity for small and medium-sized IoT device makers

Project Information

IoT4ALL

Grant agreement ID: 762511

DOI

10.3030/762511

Project closed

EC signature date 24 January 2017

Start date 1 January 2017

End date 31 May 2017

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

MOBI SOLUTIONS OU
Estonia

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IoT4ALL (Global cellular connectivity for small and medium-sized IoT device makers)

Reporting period: 2017-01-01 to 2017-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Mobi Solutions has responded to unsatisfied needs of IoT device makers and has developed a prototype of a cellular IoT connectivity platform (API) to occupy an open market niche. The current prototype (at TRL6) benefits from multiple deals with mobile carriers in different parts of the world. Switching between carriers allows to provide more than 50% lower data rates for IoT device makers compared to currently prevailing business models, and benefits SMEs who are currently at a disadvantage.
The specific objectives for the feasibility study were:
1. To validate user needs of our primary target groups and the value proposition of the MOBI 1oT cellular connectivity platform.
2. To test different off-the-shelf hardware components, including different types of SIMs, to assess the technological risks and feasibility of the planned innovation project.
3. To update the business plan based on the results of other tasks of the feasibility study.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the project, we mapped the needs and preferences of 200 companies and evaluated three SIM technologies. The study was concluded with the following results:
1. The demand for our IoT connectivity service is stronger than initially estimated.
2. Somewhat unexpectedly, we met strong interest also from mobile network operators (MNOs). Consequently, we plan to extend our business strategy and start licensing the IoT connectivity platform to regional MNOs on a white label basis.
3. In addition to MNOs, we met strong interest by high mobile data traffic clients, who are interested in deploying Mobi’s IoT platform on managing and monitoring their existing SIMs.
4. Our IoT connectivity service and platform are technically fully compatible with the eSIM technology (no fundamental changes to the technical architecture are needed for eSIM implementation).
5. We validated the use case and technical aspects of soft-SIMs together with the help of third parties, but decided to keep this opportunity on pause.
6. The in-depth analysis of competitive environment confirmed that Mobi is the only company able to provide IoT device manufacturers global cellular data coverage in a user-friendly manner, on a self-service basis, and at low cost.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The feasibility study helped to set a focus for further business and technology development and confirmed the economic viability. We were able to form a minimum viable service that covers 150 countries worldwide and started developing our connectivity management platform based on the feedback received. We are now restructuring our team and preparing the SME instrument Phase 2 proposal.

logo.png