Global connectivity for IoT-enabled soil probes
Powered by BICS SFT and Flickswitch SIM control solutions
Challenges
IoT-based smart agriculture applications help farmers lower costs, improve efficiency, maximize production, and enhance the quality of the crops. Within smart agronomy, soil moisture probes are often used by farmers to use their water resources more efficiently. However, they can be difficult to run reliably or at scale. Additionally, these probes are predominantly used in remote locations where connectivity is typically poor and distributed across a wide area.
One of the most dynamic companies working in this field is AquaCheck. Their soil moisture probes help agriculture companies to improve on-farm irrigation management. To deliver actionable insights and measure the moisture and temperature of the soil accurately, AquaCheck needed an easy-to-use online SIM management platform capable of managing and monitoring connectivity, even in rural areas.
Solution
Bootstrap profile and instant local connectivity
AquaCheck probes with Flickswitch’s pre-installed SIMs are manufactured and tested in South Africa before being shipped around the world. The BICS global network provides instant local connectivity as soon as AquaCheck probes are switched on, letting them work and communicate immediately. No manual setup or synchronization needed!
Custom data plans
BICS and Flickswitch provide AquaCheck with a custom data recharge facility, ensuring that issues like SIM expirations or failed recharges are addressed automatically and do not impact the Quality of Service.
Reliable multi-network coverage worldwide
BICS’ global footprint comes with multi-network connections, allowing Flickswitch SIMs to work and communicate reliably through the SIMControl application, even in remote areas where coverage might be poor.
The benefits of working with BICS
Seamless international connectivity
Powering Flickswitch’s pre-installed SIMs, BICS enables instant connectivity to local networks. This makes the process far easier for AquaCheck, which now benefits from uninterrupted global connectivity for their probes anywhere in the world, even in remote areas.
Custom data plans
Powered by BICS’ global network, Flickswitch ensured that AquaCheck’s probes have reliable, always-on connectivity through custom data recharges, removing challenges related to failed SIM recharges or expirations.
Guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS)
As AquaCheck needed to perform testing on devices during manufacture in South Africa before sending them to other countries, BICS’ global network and international roaming solutions were key for Flickswitch’s flexibility in provisioning global connectivity.
“We teamed-up with BICS to make international connectivity as simple as possible. Our partnership has grown over a number of years across several large IoT deployments. Thanks to BICS, we can make advanced IoT technology accessible to the agriculture industry anywhere in the world, and provide our customers with full global connectivity management benefits.”
Kees Snijders, MD, Flickswitch
“We were looking for a way to eliminate the hassle of monitoring and managing the SIMs used by our probes while ensuring uninterrupted connectivity, even in remote areas. Given the pressures of agriculture today, simplifying these smart applications will make it easier for farmers to increase efficiencies and crop production. Working with BICS enabled us to optimize deployments of connected probes across Africa and Europe, and simplify connectivity management for smart farming applications around the world.”
Leonard Hein, Agronomy and Technical Services Manager, AquaCheck
“For this deployment with Flickswitch and AquaCheck, our main goal was to provide multi-network coverage that worked seamlessly, even in remote areas all around the world. Our global partner model, including bootstrap profile, meant that from manufacture to deployment, devices connected seamlessly and without manual intervention.”
Luc Vidal-Madjar, Head of IoT and MVNE solutions at BICS
Ready for the next level? Become a partner
Develop new products or services and monetize them effectively through a flexible reseller module. Tap into new markets. Reach new customers. Create new revenues.
About Flickswitch
Founded in 2008, Flickswitch pioneered the idea of multi-network SIM management on the SIMcontrol platform. We assist companies to deploy connected devices at scale. Our solutions – from business prepaid to Global Roaming – are used by hundreds of companies ranging from M2M, IoT, Fintech & POS, Security, Agritech, Retail, and many other mobile data applications.