The opportunity
Mobile data used to mean a few phones and a spare laptop SIM. Today it runs payment terminals, CCTV, alarm panels, delivery vans and, increasingly, entire branch sites, often without the IT department being fully aware of how much is connected. For MSPs, ISPs and telecoms resellers, that makes mobile data one of the most accessible routes to new recurring revenue. The demand is already inside the businesses you serve. What is usually missing is a partner who goes looking for it.
Why the opportunity is growing now
Several things are pushing more mobile data into more parts of the average business at the same time.
The biggest is the PSTN switch-off. With the UK’s copper phone network due to close in January 2027, every alarm panel, lift line, payment terminal and telecare unit still running over a copper line needs a new way to connect. In most cases a SIM is quicker and cheaper than waiting for a fibre install, and a partner can pre-configure a cellular gateway, post it out and have it live the same day.
Connected devices are the second driver. Tills, digital signage, cameras and sensors increasingly need their own connection rather than sharing the office network, whether for security, PCI compliance or simply because there is no office network where they are installed.
Then there are sites that can’t wait for a fixed line, or won’t be around long enough to justify one: pop-up shops, construction compounds, events and temporary offices. Add mobile workforces and vehicles that need connectivity wherever they are, and the list of places a SIM is the right answer keeps growing.
The networks have caught up as well. Mature 4G and 5G now make a cellular router a credible primary connection for a shop or a site office, not just a backup. Where there is no mobile coverage at all, low Earth orbit satellite services such as Starlink mean “no signal” is no longer a reason to say no.
The common thread is that customers aren’t really buying SIMs. They are buying a till that takes payments, a camera that reports in, a van they can track or an alarm that still works after the copper goes. Framing the conversation around that outcome is what turns a technical enquiry into a real opportunity.
Why mobile data is good business for MSPs
Mobile data is billed monthly and, once a SIM is deployed inside a payment terminal, tracker or alarm, it tends to stay live for the working life of that device. That can mean years of recurring revenue from a single sale, with very little effort needed to keep it.
It also grows inside accounts. A customer who starts with connectivity for one site or one use case often extends it to more sites, more vehicles or a second use case once they see it working. That growth comes from customers who already trust you, so it costs far less to win than a new logo.
And it helps retention. A customer relying on you to keep critical connectivity running, with proper monitoring and support behind it, has a strong reason to stay and is much harder for a competitor to prise away than one buying SIMs on price.
The opportunity may already be in your customer base
For many MSPs the biggest mobile data opportunity is an existing customer looked at through a different lens. Your usual contact is probably in IT, but the decisions about connected devices often sit elsewhere: with facilities teams running multiple sites, operations managers responsible for equipment in the field, fleet managers tracking vehicles, or security teams looking after cameras and alarms.
Those teams may be buying connectivity direct from a network, managing it informally, or living with poor visibility because nobody has offered them anything better. They rarely think of themselves as buying “mobile data” at all. They think of themselves as running a fleet or keeping a store open. Asking your existing contact who else in the business looks after devices, vehicles or remote sites is often all it takes to uncover an opportunity you didn’t know was there.
Where the strongest opportunities are
The best opportunities tend to be with organisations running lots of devices, sites or vehicles, where the case for managed, centrally controlled connectivity is clearest. The sectors below are where we see that pattern most often.
Retail
Retailers use mobile connectivity for payment terminals, digital signage and kiosks, often on a separate connection to keep card traffic away from in-store Wi-Fi. Pop-up and seasonal stores need to be trading within days of signing a lease, and every store needs a backup that keeps card payments running if the main line fails.
Transport and logistics
Vehicle tracking and telematics need a reliable connection in every vehicle, not just at the depot. Ticketing systems on buses and trains depend on mobile data to take payments and validate journeys, and some operators now offer passenger Wi-Fi as well. These deployments usually involve large numbers of SIMs and a steady flow of new vehicles, so they suit a managed service with a repeatable rollout process.
Security, alarms and monitoring
CCTV, intruder alarms, fire alarm signalling and ANPR cameras frequently need their own connectivity, and many of them are currently on copper lines that won’t survive the PSTN switch-off. Construction sites need security systems connected from day one and removed just as quickly when the project ends. For unattended equipment, the mobile connection is the only way it can report a fault or raise an alarm, so a dropped connection is a real security gap, not an inconvenience.
Public sector and healthcare
Ambulances need dependable connectivity on the move. Telecare alarms, virtual wards and remote monitoring all rely on a stable connection in patients’ homes, and telecare in particular is being pushed onto cellular by the PSTN switch-off. Community staff visiting patients need to work wherever they are. These are carefully governed environments, so any proposal needs to fit the organisation’s security, compliance and procurement requirements from the start.
Remote and temporary sites
Farms, utilities infrastructure, marinas, construction compounds and events often sit where fixed lines are slow, expensive or simply unavailable. Cellular covers most of them, and satellite can fill the gaps or run as the primary link with cellular as backup, so the customer just sees a connection that works.
Next steps
The mobile data opportunity isn’t hypothetical. It is already sitting inside your customers’ businesses, in devices, sites and vehicles that depend on connectivity every day. If you want a more consistent way to find it and turn it into recurring revenue, ask Jola about their MRG programme.
