CONTINUOUS NETWORK CONNECTIVITY WITH AUTO TOP-UP FEATURE

INTRO

Many transport businesses are regulated by governments worldwide. For example, lorries must be equipped with digital tachographs so that the data is sent according to a schedule; E-TOLL, modern toll collection solutions, are governed and electronically charged. Reporting is being digitised and made mandatory at the government level. Given this, measures should be put in place to facilitate the ease of data transfer and ensure its stability.

CHALLENGE

As most transport and logistics companies are controlled by public authorities, fleet owners are required to submit digital tachograph charts regularly based on strict rules. Failure to submit data on time will inevitably result in heavy fines. According to the UK government website GOV.UK, the maximum fine for failing to do so can reach up to £10,000 and as much as 2-year imprisonment!

In the case of E-TOLL, a GPS tracker sends information on the location of a vehicle, the data is processed in the payment collection system, and a local National Revenue Administration automatically taxes the vehicle or fleet owners respectively. For example, if the data is not submitted on time in Poland, a car owner has to pay a fine, which starts at €300 per violation, as stated on the Ministry of Finance website etoll.gov.pl.

But what happens if the data is used up or the mobile network SIM card expires? Of course, the tracking device will be disconnected from the GSM network and no data will be sent at all.

Consider this situation – a day-long queue of vehicles is formed near a customs gate. By the time a lorry crosses the border, the data volume may be already depleted or the SIM card plan may have expired, and a fleet administration has not received automated notifications of such events and remains unaware of the situation. Consequently, the lorry driver may not download the digital tachograph data on time which could result in hefty fines for the fleet owner.

Going further, logistics, utilities, and delivery services are often on duty at the weekends, when administration personnel or managers in charge may have a day off. This could mean that nobody reads (or has access to) the relevant system notifications. If all the SIM card data is used up by, let’s say, Saturday evening, there possibly will be no one to top up them manually. Once again, vehicle GPS trackers will not be connected to a network and will not be able to transmit either tachograph data or transport of interest location and journey whereabouts to servers of the E-TOLL payment management system. The office administration may not realise the gravity of the situation until the upcoming Monday, and, in many cases, it will already be too late to avoid penalties.

Fortunately, Teltonika Telematics has a practical solution to help corporate fleets avoid such needless fines and ensure that the SIM cards of GPS trackers are always connected to the GSM network.

SOLUTION

Every single Teltonika vehicle GPS tracker has a placeholder for a plastic (regular) SIM card or the possibility to install an eSIM module. The SIM card or eSIM is a part of the Teltonika Connectivity Solution and is used to connect to mobile networks, and the GPS device will be able to send and receive data to and from locations covered by the data plan.

For example, the Teltonika Global Plan currently allows you to prevent roaming costs in 134 countries around the world and uses the same amount of data anywhere. But the fact is, any data plan has a limited number of megabytes, and if they are used up, a GPS tracker loses access to the mobile network.

How it works - to keep SIM cards up and running continuously without physical and manual interference, we offer the convenient and practical Auto Top-Up feature. As the name implies, when properly set up, this function automatically renews the same data plan under the same conditions when the remaining amount of data has been used up to a specified limit. Thanks to it, fleet managers and business owners will not run into trouble if a SIM card plan data is nearly used up, or the expiration term is around the corner but a person in charge has missed all the notifications, off duty, or simply forgot to top up the plan timely.

Please note, the mobile top-ups themselves need to be purchased in advance, so that they can automatically top up SIM cards of GPS trackers mounted on vehicles. To get ready to use the Auto Top-Up feature, please contact your Teltonika Sales Manager at your convenience. Handily, any number of top-ups can be purchased in advance, so fleets of any size will not be short of connectivity options.

With the SIM card management IoT Platform, you can set up specific SIM cards to be topped up, choose notification rules (via email or SMS) when 90% or any other percentage of data is used up, or inform a person in charge that the last top-up has been depleted and there are no more of them left. As a result, there is no point to monitor the amount of data or the expiry date anymore, as automatic top-ups reduce the need for manual maintenance of the SIM cards, and fleet GPS trackers will always remain connected to the GSM network with no service interruptions.

Going back to our challenge examples above, if the data volume is exhausted when parcels are being delivered on a Sunday afternoon, or a lorry driver finally arrives at the destination after a day of queuing outside office working hours, all Teltonika vehicle GPS trackers will remain connected to the mobile network and fully operational. No data loss, no fines, no hassle. Read more about Digital Tachograph Monitoring and e-TOLL Certified Vehicle GPS Trackers in our published use case articles.

To sum up, the Auto Top-Up feature provides an effective way to automate the top-up procedure, stay continuously connected online, avoid data flow interruptions and/or unwanted penalties when a SIM card is used up or expires. Get as many mobile top-ups as your business needs, set the rules with an IoT Platform, never be disconnected again and keep your reputation intact!

TOPOLOGY

BENEFITS

• No more disruptions and pricey surprises - the Auto Top-Up feature keeps SIM cards of fleets always up and running.
• Full control of the connectivity thanks to IoT Platform for SIM card management, its smart set of rules, notifications and universal login from any PC, tablet or smartphone with an internet access.
• Never lose a location of your fleet asset – conveniently, Teltonika Global Connectivity Solution provides a worldwide connection in 134 countries simultaneously (as of May 2022).
• Have only the best connection available - all major mobile operators are supported in every country, so it will be automatically established with the operator with the strongest signal.
• Connecting fleets of any size and any type of vehicles in one place - one custom-built IoT Platform to manage and monitor all Teltonika SIM cards.
• Complete business package for telematics companies - you name, you get it: SIM cards, platforms, vehicle GPS trackers, accessories, software tools and the first-rate customer support helping to save precious time and resources.

WHY TELTONIKA?

Whether a private licensed driver or a large-scale international logistics company, everyone can benefit from Teltonika Telematics solutions in the area of tracking vehicles, valuable assets or various processes ensuring simplicity, precision, continuity and the highest level of data security.

Rest assured, Teltonika solutions help companies automate routine tasks and comply with government regulations in the most convenient and hassle-free way. Since we offer not just that, but a wide range product portfolio including certified vehicle GPS trackers, accessories, customisable software tools, top-level network connectivity and five-star customer support, your business needs will be met in the most appropriate manner.