Soracom Air for Cellular
SIM Types
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.
Following standard telecommunications terminology, each SIM on the Soracom platform may be termed a subscriber when referring to its network properties or functionality. The terms SIM card or Embedded SIM are used when referring to the physical SIM module.
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 Air 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 on the device.
Network Coverage
Soracom Air SIMs differ by their cellular coverage: Global or Japan-only. Global SIMs offer network connectivity in Over 140 countries around the world (including Japan!), through roaming agreements between Soracom and each country's cellular network operators. Japan 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.
Subscription Plan
In addition to Global and Japan coverage, SIMs also consist of subscription plan that determine different levels of connectivity service.
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Soracom IoT SIMs (Global network coverage)
The plan01s subscription provides the best coverage, with pay-as-you-go data pricing that varies from country to country.
plan01s SIMs also support Subscription Containers which allow you to add extra subscription plans to the same SIM. These optional subscriptions allow you to unlock lower data rates in specific regions, or extend coverage to more countries and networks:
- planP1 subscription provides significantly lower data pricing in the Asia Pacific region while also extending the number of countries covered.
- planX1 subscription provides significantly lower data pricing in Japan with connectivity to au/KDDI on 4G/LTE.
- planX2 subscription expands Japan coverage with au/KDDI to 4G/LTE and 5G.
- planX3 subscription provides expanded global coverage on 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE networks, as well as additional coverage on LTE-M networks across several countries.
- plan-US-max subscription provides expanded US 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.
For use cases with minimal data usage, the plan01s - Low Data Volume (LDV) subscription provides flat-rate data pricing while still supporting most countries around the world.
For deployments in the United States, plan-US provides a simple fixed monthly price with a bundled data plan 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.
plan-US SIMs also support Subscription Containers which allow you to add extra subscription plans to the same SIM. These optional subscriptions allow you to extend coverage to more countries and networks:
- plan-US-NA subscription provides extended coverage to Canada and Mexico.
- plan-US-max subscription provides expanded United States coverage with T-Mobile and Verizon.
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.
For deployments exclusively in the United States and Canada, plan-NA1 provides a simple fixed monthly price with a set amount of data included each month, and is ideal for applications where global coverage is not necessary.
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Soracom IoT SIMs for Japan (Japan-only network coverage)
The plan-D (Data/SMS) and plan-D (Data-only) subscriptions provide connectivity to NTT Docomo (3G and 4G/LTE). For high data usage scenarios, the plan-DU subscription provides prepaid bulk data with connectivity to NTT Docomo (4G/LTE only).
The plan-K subscription provides connectivity to au/KDDI (4G/LTE), and the plan-KM1 subscription provides connectivity to au/KDDI (LTE Cat-M1).
The following tables provide an overview of Soracom Air for Cellular form factors, network coverage, and subscription plans:
Soracom IoT SIM | Soracom IoT SIM for Japan | ||||||||
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Plan | plan01s | plan01s - LDV | plan-US | plan-NA1 | plan-D (Data/SMS) | plan-D (Data-only) | plan-DU | plan-K | plan-KM1 |
Design | |||||||||
Pricing | Pay-As-You-Go | Pay-As-You-Go with bundled data | Pay-As-You-Go | Pay-As-You-Go with bundled data | Pay-As-You-Go | ||||
Bundled Data | — | Plans available from 1MB to 10GB | 3MB / 20MB / 50MB / 100MB | — | 10GB / 50GB / 100GB | — | |||
Coverage | Over 140 countries *1, *2 | 84 countries *1 | United States *1 | United States & Canada *1 | Japan (NTT Docomo) | Japan (au/KDDI) | |||
Connectivity | 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, LTE Cat-M1, NB-IoT *3 | 4G/LTE, 5G, LTE Cat-M1, NB-IoT *3 | 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, LTE Cat-M1 *3 | 3G, 4G/LTE | 4G/LTE | 4G/LTE | LTE Cat-M1 | ||
Form Factors | 3-in-1 (Standard/Mini-, Micro-, and Nano-SIM) ecoSIM package Embedded SIM (eSIM) |
3-in-1 (Standard/Mini-, Micro-, and Nano-SIM) ecoSIM package | Standard/Mini-SIM Micro-SIM Nano-SIM |
Micro-SIM Nano-SIM |
Nano-SIM Embedded SIM (eSIM) |
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Data | |||||||||
SMS | |||||||||
USSD | |||||||||
Voice | |||||||||
Subscription Containers | |||||||||
Optional Subscriptions | planP1 planX1 planX2 planX3 plan-US-max |
plan-US-NA plan-US-max |
*1 - Refer to the
Supported Carriers
documentation for carrier information.
*2 - Total coverage changes based on any optional subscriptions added to the SIM.
*3 - Actual network availability varies by country and local operator.
Optional Subscriptions | |||||||
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Plan | planP1 | planX1 | planX2 | planX3 | plan-US-max | plan-US-NA | |
Pricing | Pay-As-You-Go | Pay-As-You-Go with bundled data | Depends *4 | Pay-As-You-Go with bundled data | |||
Bundled Data | — | 5MB | Depends *4 | Same as plan-US | |||
Coverage | Asia Pacific *5 | Japan (au/KDDI) | Global *5 | United States *5 | North America *5 | ||
Connectivity | 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE *6 | 4G/LTE | 4G/LTE, 5G | 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, LTE Cat-M1 *6 | 2G, 4G/LTE, LTE Cat-M1 *6 | 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE *6 | |
Form Factors | Over-The-Air (OTA) update | ||||||
Data | |||||||
SMS | MT-SMS only *7 | Limited *8 | MT-SMS only *7 | ||||
USSD | |||||||
Voice |
*4 - When adding a plan-US-max Subscription Container to a plan01s SIM, pricing follows Pay-as-you-Go without any bundled data. When adding a plan-US-max Subscription Container to a plan-US SIM, pricing follows Pay-as-you-Go with the same bundled data as plan-US.
*5 - Refer to the
Supported Carriers
documentation for carrier information.
*6 - Actual network availability varies by country and local operator.
*7 - Mobile Terminated SMS, or SMS delivered from Soracom to a device.
*8 - Only supported between plan-US-max SIMs.
Hardware Compatibility
Soracom IoT SIMs (Global coverage) require a SIM-free (or carrier-unlocked) device. When using a Global Air SIM in a device that is carrier-locked or carrier-branded, you may receive an error message indicating that you cannot use the Soracom Air 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-only 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 and plan-KM1. NTT Docomo- and au/KDDI-branded devices do not need to be carrier-unlocked when used with their respective subscription plans.
Network Compatibility
In general, Soracom Air SIM modules do not have any limitations with cellular networks around the world. However, you must check that your hardware 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, or 4G/LTE frequency bands that are available in the United States.
In some cases, 2G, 3G, or 4G/LTE 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.
Coverage Types
Whether you use the Soracom User Console's intuitive user interface to manage your subscribers directly from your browser, or the Soracom API or Soracom CLI to integrate or automate management tasks with your application, Global and Japan subscribers are organized into separate coverage regions, due to their different platform functionality.
When managing subscribers from the User Console, ensure that you have selected the correct coverage type, Global or Japan, corresponding to your subscriber's network coverage.
SIM Type | plan01s plan01s - LDV plan-US plan-NA1 | plan-D plan-DU plan-K plan-KM1 |
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Subscription Container | planP1 planX1 planX2 planX3 plan-US-max plan-US-NA | |
User Console Coverage | Global | Japan |
API Endpoint |
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CLI Flag |
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