Robustel Smart Roaming V2

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Onderwerp

Smart roaming is a new technology available exclusively at Robust routers to increase the reliability of 4G and 5G connectivity.

This technology has been developed to meet the needs of companies that work extensively with IoT and M2M. Multi-network SIMs (also known as roaming) are in many cases seen as the solution for faltering GSM communications, but roaming SIMs often do not appear to solve the problems.

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The problem

Multi-network SIMs that provide access to all 2G, 4G and 5G networks seem to be an excellent solution to the shortcomings of a regular internet connection with only one network operator. When one connection is used, a limited coverage or a intermittent connection ensure that a connection is down for a long time. The use of a multi-network SIM however, is only part of the solution. Network selection is a function of the hardware, not of the SIM card. So although a multi-network SIM card seems like the solution, it could still be the router or modem does not look for an alternative network when the connection is lost.

The complete technical process of 'network selection', is described in the 3GPP standard TS 3GPP 23.122. This can be downloaded from 'portal.3gpp.org'. Here is described in detail what the limits by automatic network selection are. We notice that the disadvantages are not well known and that in many cases system designers still opt for a roaming SIM card. This leads to problems when they encounter connection problems that are difficult to understand and solve Disappointments.

The solution

All Robustel routers that 'Smart Roaming' or 'Smart Roaming v2' support, can be set in such a way that if mobile data communication is lost, a connection is immediately sent alternative network is diverted. This saves time and money because you do not have to go to the location every time to check and repair the connection. In addition, it provides a certain security and peace of mind to know that the network has a high reliability and that devices and machines have a good connection with each other.

Smart Roaming not only monitors the signal strength, but also 'ping times' and 'ping completion' to get a more complete picture of the current connection. If the quality is insufficient, the router will assess the quality of alternative networks and switch to the best available connection if communication is lost or of low quality.

Smart Roaming v2 extends the original functionality so that more is possible with the roaming SIM cards. The most important extension is a built-in one speed test which allows users to make a real-time assessment of the quality of the Internet connection.

New features in Smart Roaming v2

The original v1 Smart Roaming is specifically designed for flexibility and resilience. If automatic network selection did something illogical or unfavorable, Smart Roaming would override the network selection process and manually attempt to move the connection to other networks to resolve the problem. This is well suited for industrial applications with little concern about data speeds. One of the most important upgrades in Smart Roaming v2 is the ability to data transfer speeds to check with a speed test and manually switch to another networkk if the current network is too “slow”. This is made possible by a network selection function and a speed test function all managed via the router's GUI.

Smart Roaming v2 also makes it possible to “preferences” of networks to choose from. This is an option that affects the automatic network selection, but in some cases it may be preferable to apply it.

Smart Roaming v2 has a button “Forget RPLMN”. When this is clicked the memory of the RPLMN, or 'last known good network' be deleted. By deleting the RPLMN (stored in the SIM) and then restarting, the automatic network selection process will not be affected by what happened before. In fact, automatic network selection will treat the SIM card as if it has never been used before and therefore, after doing a scan, it will randomly choose from good quality networks.

Full remote control. Everything that can be done in the router interface can also be achieved remotely with TEXT MESSAGE assignments. This means that a large number of routers can be safely monitored and managed remotely using a mobile phone.

Below are some examples:

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