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Ask HN: Cellular Data Options for MQTT

4 points by dano ↗ HN
Options for data only SIMs seem to be all over the place. Google fi charges $10 / GB for additional data only SIMs, Twilio Super SIMs are $0.10 / MB, and now Verizon is offering 5G Home Unlimited for $50 month-to-month.

The use case I'm trying to solve for is an urban location where sensors are sending MQTT data on an occasional basis and not using more than 1 or 2 GB per month. At the moment, the Google fi SIM is the most cost effective, but it isn't scalable in a business context.

What are others doing to resolve cellular data connectivity at a reasonable price?

9 comments

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davismwfl
Get with the dominate provider(s) in the areas you are evaluating and talk to them, there are tons of options that you won't ever see online from them. Companies like Verizon, AT&T etc have all kinds of business plans which you can't find online, you need to talk with a business account manager. As you'd expect, volume has a large impact on your pricing.

If you are just prototyping and not ready to create a relationship then use one of the online plans with a provider or Twilio etc until you are ready. You'll generally pay a bit more doing this, but for prototyping it gives you more options and you can try different providers etc.

detaro
"not more than 1 or 2 GB" is a lot for just some occasional sensor data. (~20-50kByte/minute) Many "IoT" targeting providers I've seen specialize their cheaper offerings more on a lot lower rates.
dano
Yes, it is a lot of data - there are some sensors over which I can't buffer and control their data usage very well. They're on the same network as devices that I can control.