Soracom Air for Cellular

SIM Types & Plans

Soracom provides several types of SIM modules to fit a wide variety of cellular devices. Soracom works directly with SIM manufacturers and network carriers to provide each type of SIM module.

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Characteristics

Each SIM is categorized by the following three characteristics:

Physical Form Factor

Soracom offers both SIM card and Embedded SIM (eSIM) form factors. SIM cards provide flexibility and work with a wide variety of cellular hardware (such as 3G/LTE modems and development kits) that use SIM card slots. Most Soracom IoT SIM cards come in a "trio" pre-cut card that can be resized to fit standard/mini- (2FF), micro- (3FF), and nano-SIM (4FF) slots. For hardware applications with space constraints or security requirements, eSIMs (MFF2) provide the same cellular connectivity in a smaller package that can be soldered directly onto the device.

Coverage Type

Soracom IoT SIMs are categorized by their cellular coverage: Global or Japan-only.

Global Coverage IoT SIMs offer network connectivity in over 170 countries around the world including Japan through roaming agreements between Soracom and each country's cellular network operators. Note that Global Coverage also includes IoT SIMs which are tailored for specific countries or regions around the world.

Japan Coverage IoT SIMs offer network connectivity only in Japan (connecting to other networks outside of Japan is not supported), and provides separate platform functionality tailored for customers whose devices will be deployed in Japan.

Whether you use the Soracom User Console to manage your IoT SIMs directly from your browser, or the Soracom API or Soracom CLI to integrate or automate SIM management tasks with your application, you will need to use the correct Coverage Type that corresponds to your IoT SIM.

Subscription Plan

Soracom IoT SIMs are available in a variety of subscription plans that determine different amount of coverage, data rates, and other connectivity services.

Soracom IoT SIMs (Global Coverage)

• plan01s provides the best global coverage on 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, 5G, LTE Cat-M1, and NB-IoT, with Pay-As-You-Go data pricing that varies from country to country.

  plan01s IoT SIMs also support Subscription Containers which allow you to add additional subscription plans to the same SIM in order to unlock lower data rates in specific regions or extend coverage to more countries and networks:

  • planP1 provides lower data rates in the Asia Pacific region and expands the number of countries covered.
  • planX1 provides lower data rates in Japan with connectivity to au/KDDI on 4G/LTE.
  • planX2 expands Japan coverage with au/KDDI to 4G/LTE and 5G.
  • planX3 expands global coverage on 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, 5G, LTE Cat-M1, and NB-IoT networks across several countries.
  • plan-US-max expands United States coverage with Verizon.

  Subscriptions can be added directly from the Soracom User Console and are delivered wirelessly to your plan01s SIM. For more information, refer to the Subscription Containers documentation.

• plan01s - Low Data Volume (LDV) provides flat-rate Pay-As-You-Go data pricing for IoT applications that have minimal data usage while still supporting most countries around the world.

• plan-NA1 provides coverage for deployments exclusively in United States & Canada with a simple fixed monthly price that includes bundled data, and is ideal for applications where global coverage is not necessary.

• plan-US provides coverage in the United States with a simple fixed monthly price that includes bundled data that can be changed on a per-SIM basis. plan-US also provides a local IMSI, a higher bandwidth; 16Mbps Speed Class, and coverage that includes regional carriers for rural areas in the United States.

  plan-US IoT SIMs also support Subscription Containers which allow you to add additional subscription plans to the same SIM in order to extend coverage to more countries and networks:

  • plan-US-max expands United States coverage with T-Mobile and Verizon.
  • plan-US-NA expands United States coverage with T-Mobile and extends coverage to Canada & Mexico.

  Subscriptions can be added directly from the Soracom User Console and are delivered wirelessly to your plan-US SIM. For more information, refer to the Subscription Containers documentation.

• planX3 provides global 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, 5G, LTE Cat-M1, and NB-IoT coverage with a simple fixed monthly price that includes bundled data for IoT applications that have minimal data usage.

• planX3-EU provides comprehensive 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, 5G, LTE Cat-M1, and NB-IoT coverage in Europe & United Kingdom with a simple fixed monthly price that includes bundled data as well as selected Soracom platform services.

Soracom IoT SIMs for Japan (Japan Coverage)

• plan-D (Data/SMS) and plan-D (Data-only) provide connectivity to NTT Docomo (3G, 4G/LTE, and LTE Cat-M1), with either Pay-As-You-Go data pricing or a simple fixed monthly price that includes bundled data.

• plan-DU provides prepaid bulk data with connectivity to NTT Docomo (4G/LTE only), for high data usage scenarios.

• plan-K provides connectivity to au/KDDI (4G/LTE only) with Pay-As-You-Go data pricing.

• plan-K2 provides connectivity to au/KDDI (4G/LTE and 5G) with a simple fixed monthly price that includes bundled data.

• plan-KM1 provides connectivity to au/KDDI (LTE Cat-M1 only) with Pay-As-You-Go data pricing.

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Comparison of IoT SIMs

The following tables provide an overview of Soracom IoT SIM form factors, network coverage, and subscription plans:

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Hardware Compatibility

Soracom IoT SIMs (Global Coverage) require a SIM-free (or carrier-unlocked) device. When using a Global Coverage IoT SIM in a device that is carrier-locked or carrier-branded, you may receive an error message indicating that you cannot use the Soracom IoT SIM card. You will need to contact the carrier in order to obtain a code to unlock your device.

Soracom IoT SIMs for Japan (Japan Coverage) work with both SIM-free (or carrier unlocked) devices, as well as NTT Docomo-branded devices when using plan-D or plan-DU, and au/KDDI-branded devices when using plan-K, plan-K2 and plan-KM1. NTT Docomo- and au/KDDI-branded devices do not need to be carrier-unlocked when used with their respective subscription plans.

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Network Compatibility

In general, Soracom IoT SIMs do not have any limitations with cellular networks around the world. However, you must check that your device is compatible with the network frequencies in the country of use.

For example, when using a Soracom IoT SIM in a device in the United States, you must check that your device supports the 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, 5G, LTE-M, or NB-IoT frequency bands that are available in the United States.

In some cases, 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, 5G, LTE-M, or NB-IoT coverage may not be available on a particular network. Even if your device supports the correct frequency bands, it will not be able to connect on a particular radio type (such as 4G/LTE) if none of the available networks in that country have deployed the corresponding network.

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Managing IoT SIMs

Because Soracom IoT SIMs are categorized by their Global or Japan Coverage Type, management of SIMs is handled accordingly. When using the Soracom User Console, Soracom API, or Soracom CLI to manage SIMs, make sure to use the correct coverage type or endpoint that corresponds to your SIM.