How to create and earn SaaS | Part 13 | Three steps roaming technology
My previous post was written about a dictatorial shift in the understanding by cellular operators of the need to change the paradigm of providing communication services using classic SIM cards to the widespread introduction of “virtual SIMs”. Today I want to tell you what roaming-free technologies have been developed in Russia over the past few years, which are being developed now, and which will be developed tomorrow.
Unfortunately, there is only one company in the Russian market that develops roaming-free communication technologies (all others use someone else's work or are actually MVNO) and this is the technology leader of the segment - ComfortWay .
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What happened
The previous implementation of ComfortWay was developed for several years, and now version 2.0 of the product is on sale, which is a 3G Wi-Fi router that works without recharging for up to 10 hours and distributes the Internet throughout the European Union for 5 Euros per 150 MB per day. Plus the device provides cheap outgoing calls and SMS. The average person may have the feeling that the guys just bought the bulk rate and distribute it to the people at high prices, but this is absolutely not the case. The technology, which will be described below, gives the device important and significant properties that cannot be implemented in a normal router:
What are these properties:
- Own billing system allows you to provide customers with flexible tariff plans and traffic packages.
- Control your costs in real time on the start page.
- Automatic selection of the best operator, depending on the quality of the mobile signal.
- Payment by credit card and electronic money, even with a zero balance.
- Affiliate programs with leading hotel reservation, airline tickets and excursions provide the client with FREE Mobile Internet during the trip.
The first version of the product was excellently written in its independent reviews by Alex Exler and Stepan Danilov.
A technology-based product has been created that provides secure access to the company's cloud. The product is a compact device that is provided to corporate customers for free and has the following features:
1. Access the mobile Internet from your smartphone / tablet / laptop around the world without roaming payments. Basic offer: subscription fee of $ 19 per month, 1 Gb included in the world, additional traffic at $ 19 per Gb.
2. Built-in VPN for secure access to the corporate network with a traffic compression algorithm.
3. Built-in encrypted storage of important data with remote management by a system administrator. This is required so that users do not save docks on their smartphone / laptop.
4. Built-in traffic checking for viruses.
5. Restriction of access to entertainment resources with the ability to remotely configure black and white lists
6. Hard authorization on key resources (analogue of HASP-key).
7. New features are easily added "in the air", because The device is a mini-computer on Linux.
8. External battery for recharging smartphones and tablets - very convenient to travel.
Those. The main goal of the technology is to provide employees with secure access to the corporate network and the Internet as a whole without roaming charges on their mobile devices.
The present
The ComfortWay 3.0 technology will implement the “SIM Specified Embedded GSMA” principle, providing a single standard de facto mechanism for remote preparation and control and machine-to-machine connection (M2M), which allows initialization of the operator’s initial subscription “over the air” and subsequent change subscriptions from one operator to another. In the M2M market, SIM cannot be easily changed using physical access to the device and there is a need to “transfer over the air” a SIM image with the same security level that is achieved today with the traditional removable GSMA SIM. Those. when arriving in any country, the traveler will simply choose the most suitable operator for him and the tariff and starts communicating at local tariffs - roaming has no place in the new technological paradigm.
Technology
The ComfortWay project team took a step towards virtual SIM card support several years ago by developing its own billing system, independent of telecom operators, as well as preparing firmware for managing such a SIM card. As a result, the operator became a “pipe” for data transmission, and the entire SIM card management was on the side of the team - activating / deactivating Internet access, setting traffic limits, creating tariffs, working with user balance, bonus system and additional services. This opened up unlimited opportunities for providing roaming-free Internet access services around the world.
If you continue to talk about the technological advantages of the ComfortWay cloud, then colleagues implemented an API for:
- Integration of payment systems.
- Integration of reservation systems.
- Integration of travel accounting systems.
- Integration of systems that provide services for travelers.
To date, affiliate programs are working successfully, for example, with booking.com or Alfa Bank, and new systems are added regularly.
Future
The company's next step is to create a cloud gateway for operators. At the moment, the project team is discussing with the market players the joint creation of a cloud of SIM-profiles, to which any partner can connect who wants to release a universal SIM card with roaming-free access around the world.
Support colleagues on Kikstarter and ask questions to developers
Alexey Kalachnikov
author's blog www.bootstrap24.ru
Materials series "How to create and earn on SaaS"
Unfortunately, there is only one company in the Russian market that develops roaming-free communication technologies (all others use someone else's work or are actually MVNO) and this is the technology leader of the segment - ComfortWay .
')
What happened
The previous implementation of ComfortWay was developed for several years, and now version 2.0 of the product is on sale, which is a 3G Wi-Fi router that works without recharging for up to 10 hours and distributes the Internet throughout the European Union for 5 Euros per 150 MB per day. Plus the device provides cheap outgoing calls and SMS. The average person may have the feeling that the guys just bought the bulk rate and distribute it to the people at high prices, but this is absolutely not the case. The technology, which will be described below, gives the device important and significant properties that cannot be implemented in a normal router:
What are these properties:
- Own billing system allows you to provide customers with flexible tariff plans and traffic packages.
- Control your costs in real time on the start page.
- Automatic selection of the best operator, depending on the quality of the mobile signal.
- Payment by credit card and electronic money, even with a zero balance.
- Affiliate programs with leading hotel reservation, airline tickets and excursions provide the client with FREE Mobile Internet during the trip.
The first version of the product was excellently written in its independent reviews by Alex Exler and Stepan Danilov.
A technology-based product has been created that provides secure access to the company's cloud. The product is a compact device that is provided to corporate customers for free and has the following features:
1. Access the mobile Internet from your smartphone / tablet / laptop around the world without roaming payments. Basic offer: subscription fee of $ 19 per month, 1 Gb included in the world, additional traffic at $ 19 per Gb.
2. Built-in VPN for secure access to the corporate network with a traffic compression algorithm.
3. Built-in encrypted storage of important data with remote management by a system administrator. This is required so that users do not save docks on their smartphone / laptop.
4. Built-in traffic checking for viruses.
5. Restriction of access to entertainment resources with the ability to remotely configure black and white lists
6. Hard authorization on key resources (analogue of HASP-key).
7. New features are easily added "in the air", because The device is a mini-computer on Linux.
8. External battery for recharging smartphones and tablets - very convenient to travel.
Those. The main goal of the technology is to provide employees with secure access to the corporate network and the Internet as a whole without roaming charges on their mobile devices.
The present
The ComfortWay 3.0 technology will implement the “SIM Specified Embedded GSMA” principle, providing a single standard de facto mechanism for remote preparation and control and machine-to-machine connection (M2M), which allows initialization of the operator’s initial subscription “over the air” and subsequent change subscriptions from one operator to another. In the M2M market, SIM cannot be easily changed using physical access to the device and there is a need to “transfer over the air” a SIM image with the same security level that is achieved today with the traditional removable GSMA SIM. Those. when arriving in any country, the traveler will simply choose the most suitable operator for him and the tariff and starts communicating at local tariffs - roaming has no place in the new technological paradigm.
Technology
The ComfortWay project team took a step towards virtual SIM card support several years ago by developing its own billing system, independent of telecom operators, as well as preparing firmware for managing such a SIM card. As a result, the operator became a “pipe” for data transmission, and the entire SIM card management was on the side of the team - activating / deactivating Internet access, setting traffic limits, creating tariffs, working with user balance, bonus system and additional services. This opened up unlimited opportunities for providing roaming-free Internet access services around the world.
If you continue to talk about the technological advantages of the ComfortWay cloud, then colleagues implemented an API for:
- Integration of payment systems.
- Integration of reservation systems.
- Integration of travel accounting systems.
- Integration of systems that provide services for travelers.
To date, affiliate programs are working successfully, for example, with booking.com or Alfa Bank, and new systems are added regularly.
Future
The company's next step is to create a cloud gateway for operators. At the moment, the project team is discussing with the market players the joint creation of a cloud of SIM-profiles, to which any partner can connect who wants to release a universal SIM card with roaming-free access around the world.
Support colleagues on Kikstarter and ask questions to developers
Alexey Kalachnikov
author's blog www.bootstrap24.ru
Materials series "How to create and earn on SaaS"
- Part I / remove all unnecessary, hit the target, experiment
- Part 2 / invaluable experience of Russian ISV
- Part 3 / sales through an affiliate channel that may not be needed
- Part 4 / Startta Quickme - communication and collaboration of small teams
- Part 5 / pervasive SaaS integration, how nice the threat is to the rest of the software business or how 1 + 1 turns into 3
- Part 6 / Quickme story for partners or 7 reasons to do things together
- Part 7 prefinal / why not sell SaaS?
- Part 8 - FINISH / SaaS - the realities of the Russian market
- Accidentally forgotten Part 9 / Legal SaaS fog
- Part 10 / Business Model Metrics
- Part 11 / Cloud Services Reviews / UX and Usability Testing
- Part 12 / Mobile access to the cloud revolution: how to change the operator in "one click"
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/245053/
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