Speed Class

Similar to AWS EC2 instance sizes and Azure VM series, Soracom Air SIMs can be configured to adjust the maximum upload/download bandwidth. Adjustment is done by setting an Air SIM's Speed Class, with each class corresponding to a specific bandwidth:

Speed Class Download Speed Upload Speed plan01s *2 plan01s - LDV plan-US *3 plan-NA1 plan-D D-300MB plan-D (no bundle) plan-DU plan-K plan-KM1
s1.minimum 32 kbps 32 kbps
s1.slow 128 kbps 128 kbps
s1.standard 512 kbps 512 kbps (Default) (Default)
s1.fast 2 Mbps 2 Mbps
s1.4xfast 8 Mbps 8 Mbps (Default) (Default) (Default) (Default) (Default)
s1.8xfast 16 Mbps 16 Mbps
t1.standard *1 2 Mbps 2 Mbps (Default)
u1.slow 128 kbps 128 kbps
u1.standard 4 Mbps No limit (Default)

*1 - Although t1.standard allows up to 2Mbps download and upload speed, the throughput is limited by the LTE Cat-M1 network and actual network speeds will be less.
*2 - planP1, planX1, planX2, planX3, and plan-US-max subscription containers inherit the speed class of the plan01s SIM.
*3 - plan-US-max and plan-US-NA subscription containers inherit the speed class of the plan-US SIM.


Off-Peak Pricing

The price (cost per MB of traffic) of plan-D and plan-K SIMs is based on its speed class, with s1.minimum being the most economical. However, during off-peak hours from 2:00 am to 6:00 am (JST), all speed classes are reduced to a discounted price, with no difference in pricing between speed classes. This allows you to take advantage of low s1.minimum fees for basic data applications, then ramp up to s1.fast in the evening for heavier workloads such as downloading firmware updates or uploading buffered data. For off-peak pricing information, refer to the Pricing & Fee Schedule documentation.

For plan01s, plan01s - LDV, plan-US, and plan-NA1 SIMs, all speed classes are priced the same. Instead, speed classes can be used to limit the effective data consumption, allowing you to take control of data costs.

Regardless of pricing, there are no fees for changing the speed class of a SIM.


Changing a Speed Class

For plan-D and plan-K SIMs, changing the speed class may affect the data usage cost. Refer to the Pricing & Fee Schedule for more information.

  1. Login to the User Console. From the Menu, open the SIM Management screen.

  2. From the list of subscribers, click the for the SIM you want to manage.

  3. Click the Actions menu, then select Change speed class.

    https://console.soracom.io

    Change speed class

  4. In the dialog, select the new speed class for the SIM, then click Change Speed Class.

    Set speed class

The new speed class is effective immediately.

Alternatively, you can also change the speed class directly from the list of SIMs. Simply find the Speed class column for the SIM you want to update, and click the icon next to the current speed class and the same dialog box will appear to change the speed class of your SIM.

https://console.soracom.io

Change speed class inline


Limitations

The following limitations apply to Soracom Air SIM speed classes:


Programmatic Usage

In addition to configuring the speed class of each SIM from the User Console, you can also perform the same configuration programmatically, allowing you to integrate automated control of your device's bandwidth inside your application.

Soracom API

To access the Soracom API, first use the auth API to obtain an API Key and Token. Refer to the API Reference Guide for instructions on how to use the API Key and Token in API requests.

Then, use the updateSpeedClass API to change the speed class of an Air SIM:

curl -X POST \
>  -H 'X-Soracom-API-Key: <MY-API-KEY>' \
>  -H 'X-Soracom-Token: <MY-TOKEN>' \
>  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
>  -d '{
>        "speedClass": "s1.standard"
>      }' \
>  https://g.api.soracom.io/v1/subscribers/<IMSI>/update_speed_class

Soracom CLI

To use the Soracom CLI, you must first configure it to authenticate with your account information, authorization key, or SAM user credentials.

Then, run the following command to change the speed class of an Air SIM:

soracom subscribers update-speed-class --imsi <IMSI> --speed-class "s1.standard" --coverage-type g