Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

In a recent article, Vodafone UK outlined plans to start retiring its 3G network in 2023. They are planning to use the freed-up spectrum to improve the speed and coverage of 4G and 5G networks.  EE plans to phase out 3G services by 2023. On December 21, the UK government announced that it had agreed with all four UK mobile operators to switch off all public 2G and 3G networks by 2033.

What does this mean for the channel?

This presents a good opportunity for the channel to help their customers support devices, such as payment terminals, trackers and ATM machines currently using 2G and 3G networks. There is an opportunity to replace devices and, in some cases, to replace SIMs at the same time.

Jola

Forward-thinking companies such as Jola are already helping their 1000+ partner base to find and win this lucrative business with a combination of a tried-and-tested six-stage process, a wide range of cost-effective, unique and differentiated services and real-time, automated management portals.

Jola has acquired Zapappi, a wholesale SIP provider, to bolster their SIP and PSTN replacement services to the channel.

Many SMEs will leave it to the last minute, but larger organisations have realised the potential scope of a PSTN/ISDN replacement project. Jola partners are already seeing tenders from their flagship customers. As with many new technologies, organisations prefer to award these contracts to existing suppliers, but only if they can demonstrate the capability to deliver the entire project.

They usually require three types of IP solution 1) where ISDN or PSTN numbers need to be ported onto a fixed broadband or Ethernet connectivity over SIP 2) where existing numbers need to be overlayed onto a 4G/4G+/5G mobile broadband connection, and 3) where the requirement is for a mobile broadband connection, but a landline number is not required and a 07x number is preferred.

Number porting in the UK is still not an easy process, and projects have run into difficulties where resellers have tried to juggle a number of different suppliers.

“With Jola’s recent acquisition of Zapappi, their network, their SIP Management platform, and suite of porting tools, we have the experience to support resellers in delivering an entire network upgrade, fixed line and mobile, at wholesale prices low enough to win these projects at decent margins.

For many applications (e.g., taxis, street lighting, signage, lifts etc), to be forced to upgrade from a single fixed telephone line to broadband would be a significant extra cost. For the millions of telephone lines that fall into this category the solution is mobile data, and where end users need to keep their existing phone numbers, the acquisition of Zapappi creates a differentiated offering and a margin opportunity for Jola partners.

Jola is the UK’s #1 supplier of mobile data to the channel and only we have the infrastructure, capability and experience to supply resellers and MSPs with a 100% end-to-end automated solution for PSTN/ISDN replacement projects.” Andrew Dickinson, CEO.

"We’ve worked closely with Jola for a number of years, and it’s great to be one team. All of Jola’s 1000+ partners are prospects for Zapappi products and our technology completes the Jola portfolio. Any Jola reseller serious about mobile data, SIP, Teams DR and the opportunities arising from the impending PSTN switch-off and retirement of 2G and 3G networks, will be excited by this announcement.” Ben Merrills, CEO Zapappi.

Many roaming SIMs in the UK come from foreign mobile networks and have profiles that allow roaming in the UK and the rest of Europe.  However, through the UK channel, most M2M and IoT applications, using un-steered roaming SIMs, actually never leave the UK. These customers are paying for European roaming they never use and because they often come with a European IP address they may be suitable for some applications but not usually anything that requires web browsing.

In response to this, Jola has created a competitively priced, UK IP addressed, un-steered roaming SIM that provides access to all the UK mobile networks the customer needs with none of the networks the customer doesn’t. Private APN options are also available for customers who need to build a secure private network using mobile connectivity.

Adrian Sunderland, CTO, commented, ‘Jola has built a fully redundant, highly scalable IP edge network specifically designed to deliver high performance and secure mobile data services.  The network is built on technology from Amazon Web Services, Cloudflare and Cisco and underpins our Fixed IP and Private APN services.

Our Private APN enables partners to establish secure, private 4G networks, with no set-up charge, and low monthly fees. All of these services are delivered via Jola’s award-winning, self-service management portal, Mobile Manager.

We have a trusted six step process to help partners uncover and win opportunities and we believe we are best-placed to help the channel grow lucrative revenue streams by offering the widest range of differentiated mobile data solutions in a market-leading, automated management portal.’

Many SMEs will leave it to the last minute but larger organisations have realised the potential scope of a PSTN/ISDN Replacement project and Jola partners are already seeing tenders from their flagship customers. As with many new technologies, organisations prefer to award these contracts to existing suppliers, but only if they can demonstrate the capability to deliver the entire project.

They usually require three types of IP solution 1) where ISDN and PSTN numbers need to be ported onto a fixed broadband or Ethernet connection 2) where existing numbers need to be ported onto a 4G/4G+/5G mobile broadband connection, and 3) where the requirement is for a mobile broadband connection but a landline number is not required and a 07x number is preferred.

Number porting in the UK is still not a fully matured process and early projects have run into difficulties where the reseller has tried to juggle a number of different suppliers.

Partners bidding to win mobile data opportunities for M2M and IoT solutions such as 4G SIMs in tablets in the public sector or MultiNet SIMs in smart water meters are being asked very specific questions about their portal. End-users want to know how real-time the data is and how automated the portal is. It is essential in the public sector, who are working to tight budgets who have been burnt before with high data overage charges, no visibility and no direct access to make changes to their estate.

Adrian Sunderland, CTO, commented, ‘I have noticed a trend when working with MSPs on IoT bids. End users do not want multiple supplier portals to deal with, they want the ability to order a wide range of technologies from multiple network operators in a single portal. They want direct access to activate SIMs, add bolt-ons and share data across accounts. They need access for their end user to be able to monitor usage in real-time. Suppliers who can offer real-time, automated portals are better placed to win the deals.’

In October 2021 Jola reached a new milestone with over £1 million of Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) in Jola’s major bid (over £5k MRR) partner pipeline. This equates to nearly £2m MRR for Jola partners. Jola reached over 1000 partners last year.

M2M and IoT is not as difficult to get into as you may think. There is a huge demand for mobile data for IT projects, which is predicted to increase dramatically over the next few years. Mobile data is easy to sell, support and bill, with a real-time automated portal and access to a wide range of unique and differentiated solutions. Partners who have developed their portfolio and become successful at selling mobile data have driven up their EBITDA multiple.

When Jola first started working on major mobile data bids with their partners, none of the tenders even mentioned self-service portals. Today nearly 30% include parent-child online management panels as a minimum requirement.

It’s no surprise to see this change primarily in second generation projects. End-user companies that have rolled out multi-site IoT/M2M deployments have found them impossible to manage manually. From capacity management to usage and fault diagnosis, everything is so much easier with real-time control.

When these projects come up for renewal the need for a comprehensive portal moves from Desired to Essential. With specialist third party bid consultants involved in helping companies write tenders, this is only going to increase.

Mobile Manager is Jola’s unique mobile data management platform. It is multi-carrier and has the ability to eliminate bill shock for end users.

Mobile Manager is used by MSPs and resellers to order and manage global mobile data estates in real-time. The white label portal communicates in real-time with multiple mobile networks. Partners can grant access to their end users to view data usage and manage SIMs. Mobile Manager handles SIM activations, ceases, suspensions, reports, alerts and bolt-ons. It also allows you to create and manage data pools and Private APNs.

Why was Mobile Manager developed?

It was designed to help channel partners grow profitable revenue streams from SIM-only solutions. Our partners win opportunities for DSL and Ethernet back-up, fixed line replacement, IoT and M2M projects as well as SIM base moves from large corporates. Resellers can brand and package their own mobile data data solutions for multiple devices all over the world.

How does it manage overages?

Mobile Manager solves the problem of bill shock from data overages by allowing partners to track usage and add bolt-ons to help eliminate overage charges completely. This is the exact opposite of what the market typically does. Carriers earn super-profits from overage charges and the channel loses customers because of it. We are the first company in the channel to challenge this and put the resellers and their customers first.

Can it support multiple networks?

Yes. For applications where it is critical to have a strong internet connection at all times, businesses are opting for un-steered multi-network roaming SIMs. These SIM cards have no preferred network.

We offer a range of multi-network and roaming options. Our Tariff Tool allows MSPs to select the countries and data allowance they need and obtain all the in-country 3G, 4G and 5G roaming network packages available.

MSPs and specialists using 4G for connectivity on short-term contracts, or for back-up, often struggle to control data usage, so get regularly hit by overage bills. They manage large estates of data SIMs on different networks, often using manual order processes, with no visibility of data usage throughout the month.

Jola developed Mobile Manager to help partners manage data usage in real-time and avoid bill shock. Our unique portal gives partners complete control over ordering, alerting, ceasing, suspending and swapping SIMs. They can also add their own bolt-ons, create and manage their own data pools and set up and manage private APN networks. Jola’s white label portal communicates in real-time with multiple 4G networks. Partners can brand the portal as their own and grant access to their end users to view data usage and manage SIMs.

Mobile Manager was designed to help channel partners grow profitable revenue streams from mobile data. MSPs productise their own solutions using Jola’s wide range of single-network and multi-network SIMs.

IoT

There is a wide range of devices that need an internet connection and M2M/IoT SIMs fit the bill. Opportunities are flooding in via partners from multiple sectors such as retail, construction, logistics and the public sector, all with different requirements. Some need IP addresses, others need multi-network SIMs, but all need the ability to monitor and manage usage remotely. Jola developed products for the channel to address these markets.

One of our partners showed us a tender they were working on recently and one of the questions was,

“Do you have your own real-time SIM management portal or are you providing third-party access to the Networks’ portals?”

A very specific question born, I surmise, out of bitter experience. The project was for thousands of SIMs in physical security devices, 2.5 years into a 36-month term. The incumbent had not been invited to tender.

For redundancy, every device had two SIMs, one unlimited and one multi-network and the end user had found having to log on to two completely different web sites exasperating. They had different features, different CDR formats and not all the processes were automated, creating MAC delays, especially out of hours.

If that’s the experience of the end user, imagine the frustration of MSPs who want to sell all the networks to multiple end users.

Most suppliers will say they have a self-service portal but if they don’t have their own they are putting their partners at a significant disadvantage.

Jola is an award-winning, channel-only supplier of business communications, specialising in mobile data SIMs. We are a global data specialist, providing innovative IoT and mobile data solutions to MSPs, ISPs, IT Support companies and Telecommunications Resellers.