A Network List is a group of selected network operators that a device with an Onomondo SIM is allowed to register on. These lists are custom, created and controlled by the user within the Onomondo App.
IoT businesses can benefit from making their own custom network lists in a number of ways, such as:
Having the full view of available operators, technologies, and prices allows users to create custom lists based on business goals.
Deciding to create custom network lists within the platform so users do not need to receive permission or leverage additional tools.
Switching the networks that a device can connect to at any time, so users can flip between networks to troubleshoot connectivity issues.
What is the Network Marketplace?
Let's now look at how you decide which networks you want to connect to.
You can do so by utilizing our Network Marketplace. The Network Marketplace is a collection of over 650 RANs that have been fully integrated into Onomondo's core network. You can make network lists for your fleet by going to the Network Lists tab in the Onomondo app.
When you create a new list or edit an existing one, you will be taken to the Marketplace:
Your choices
You can make your choices based on multiple considerations:
Available networks
Data costs
SMS costs
Access charges
Billing increments
Supported cellular technologies (2G / 3G / LTE / LTE-M / NB-IoT)
All of this can be filtered down to make for easy creation, too. Users can create a network list filtered by a variety of variables:
Specific countries and regions
Maximum price per MB
Maximum price per SMS
Available technologies
Access charges on a network
As an Onomondo app user, you can create an unlimited number of Network Lists.
Having multiple network lists is important if you need different coverage for different SIMs and devices simultaneously.
This has been especially helpful for customers who want to either lower data costs in markets they already conduct business in, improve the coverage of their device, or enter new markets outside of where they already operate.
How to view available networks
The Network Marketplace is accessible within the Onomondo app. Only users with the right permissions will be able to view and edit a network list. These permissions are granted through the Tags functionality.
When you log in to the app, go to the Network Lists tab to see the lists you've already made using the Network Marketplace. From here, you can edit an existing list or create a new one.
How to create a new Network List
Step 1: Create
On the Network Lists tab in the Onomondo platform, click "+ New Network List".
From here, you will be brought to a screen where you can name a list, or manage access to specific users. Choose either:
Owners and Admins
Tags corresponding to specific Members
Give the list a unique name and hit "+ Select networks" to open up the Network Marketplace.
Step 2: Search
In the Network Marketplace, you have the ability to search and filter for specific networks that meet your criteria. This list is in alphabetical order by country.
First of all, you can search for countries you need connectivity in. Scroll down to find your country or search for it at the top of the screen. In addition to searching for countries, you can also search for regions, like South America or Northern Europe, to quickly view multiple countries at once.
You can also quickly narrow down your search by filtering by one of the following options:
Maximum price per MB
Maximum price per SMS
Available technologies
Networks with access charges
At this point, it's worthwhile considering:
Which countries do you need connectivity in?
Which cellular technologies are supported by your devices?
How much are you willing to spend per MB of data or SMS?
How much can you spend on access charges, considering the number of units in your fleet?
Step 3: Select
In order to add networks to your list, you need to check the boxes with the networks you are interested in including. You can either:
Select networks one-by-one,
Select all networks in a particular country by clicking on the checkbox next to the country,
Use the checkbox at the top of the page next to the list headers to select all networks that match your filtering criteria.
You will see at the bottom of the page the number of networks that are selected, added, or removed from your current list.
If you would like to remove a network from an existing list, simply open up the list and uncheck those networks. You will see at the bottom of the Network Marketplace view the number of networks that will be removed.
Step 4: Save
Once you have selected all the networks you want to connect to, click the "Save selection" button in the bottom right corner.
After saving your selection, you will be brought back to the list creation screen, where you can see the countries and networks you’ve chosen. You can also click into each country to see the network information.
This page will also now provide an overview of the entire network list, including:
MB cost range
SMS cost range
Total number of networks
Total number of countries
When you are happy with the curation of your list, click "Save network list" at the bottom of the page.
Finally, click on "Create network list" in the top right corner.
If you've made any mistakes - don't worry! You can always edit the list in the future by coming back to the Network Lists tab and clicking the "edit" button next to the list.
Step 5: Assign list to your SIMs
Once an update has been saved, you can then pair selected SIMs with the list you created.
Assigning your new Network List to a SIM can be done in two different ways:
individually per SIM - by going to the SIMs tab and the individual SIM page, or
for a group of SIMs in bulk - update SIMs via the Onomondo API.
For a general guide on how to use the API, check out this article.
Congrats! Now you have full control over which networks your devices can connect with.
While it is generally recommended to include as many networks in your network lists as possible, maximizing the number of options for your device to choose from and minimizing coverage issues, it is completely up to you which networks you choose, depending on your selection criteria.
If you have any questions about Network Lists, reach out to us at [email protected].