What is data pooling?

Data pooling for M2M SIM cards: flexible data usage for IoT projects

Data pooling means that a shared data quota is used for all M2M SIM cards used. This enables flexible and cost-efficient data usage in IoT projects.

What is data pooling?

Data pooling refers to a data quota shared by all of a customer's active M2M SIM cards. So instead of setting a separate data volume for each M2M SIM card, all active SIMs are combined in a large pool and the end devices consume the data from a shared quota.

Advantages of data pooling:

• Flexible use: If one device consumes more data than others, the lower consumption can compensate for the additional consumption.
• Cost control: Lower probability of additional costs due to individual data-intensive devices.
• Simple management: One shared data quota instead of many individual limits.
• Scalability: Ideal for growing IoT fleets with varying data consumption.

This procedure makes particular sense if M2M SIM cards with different and fluctuating data requirements are used in an M2M plan . The data from the pool is then calculated against each other so that the pool is rarely exceeded due to individual M2M SIMs.

Static vs. dynamic data pooling

Static data pooling

With the static data pool, the data quota remains the same for all SIM cards, even if new M2M SIM cards are activated.

Example:

If 50 SIM cards are already active and have a data pool of 100 MB, the data pool remains at 100 MB even if five additional SIM cards are activated. All 55 SIM cards then share the unchanged total volume of 100 MB.

Dynamic data pooling

With the dynamic data pool, the data quota grows by a fixed value with each newly activated SIM card.

Example:

If a further M2M SIM is activated in addition to the 50 SIM cards (with 100 MB pool), the data pool for all SIM cards is increased by a size specified by the customer, in this example 2 MB per M2M SIM. This means that a total of 110 MB is available in the data pool for the 55 M2M SIM cards.

Alternative: Individual data limits

An alternative to using the data pool can be to set up a data limit. This specifies the maximum amount of data the individual M2M SIM may consume. Once the limit has been reached, no more data can be transferred.

When does which option make sense?

Data pooling recommended if:

• SIM cards with different consumption are in use
• Flexible distribution of the data volume is desired
• Many devices can be used in one project

Individual data limits recommended if:

• Strict control over individual devices is required
• Certain appliances may not exceed a specified maximum consumption
• Separate billing per device is required

Whether or not it makes sense to set a data limit depends on the intended use. With some devices, data transmission can be dispensed with if a limit is reached. However, there are also cases in which data must continue to be transmitted in any case, for example in telemedicine.

Application example: Vehicle fleet with varying data consumption

A company operates 30 vehicles with M2M SIM cards for telemetry, navigation and fleet management. Some vehicles are used daily and require a lot of data volume, others are only used occasionally. With data pooling, a common quota of 1,500 MB is provided for all vehicles. This allows the heavily used vehicles to consume more data, while less used vehicles do not use up their share. The company does not have to plan individually for each vehicle and avoids additional costs due to data overruns.

M2M SIM cards with flexible data pooling from wherever SIM

Our M2M SIM cards offer you both static and dynamic data pooling for maximum flexibility in your IoT projects. Benefit from transparent cost control and optimal data usage.

Find out more about our M2M SIM cards

‍