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Twilio Super SIM

twilio.com

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Re: Twilio Super SIM

#41

Post by sharken »

sjtgraham wrote: post #39
fermuch wrote: post #29

How is this different to Hologram[1] or EsEye[2]? Hologram seems to offer an api with as much access as twilio's (data usage report, switching between "networks" (what package you buy, which includes certain countries and pricing...) and monthly payment of a fleet of chips. I'm failing to see the added value of twilio, but the more competency the better! [1]: https://hologram.io/ [2]: https://www.eseye.com/

I wish folks would abstain from making "how is this different to X?" comments. They add very little to the conversation.

It is the difference between innovation and prior art/similar business, for me that makes sense to discuss.

Re: Twilio Super SIM

#42

Post by zachruss92 »

Their programmable SIM is super cool to me. I have been considering making my own DIY version of a light phone. Super SIM is interesting for IoT applications where you have something that crosses a wide geographic area (like freight). I'm very curious to see where this goes.

Re: Twilio Super SIM

#43

Post by s3graham »

mgbmtl wrote: post #18
mtw wrote: post #6

Can this do voice calls? I'm in Canada where every cell plan is more expensive than any other in the world. I have friends who purchase plans from Europe and then use the SIM locally with roaming - turns out it be 10x cheaper, the only drawback being that they have a foreign number

I use a data-only cell plan ("tablet" plan from Fido), $15/month for 3 GB. For voice calls, I use a SIP account from voip.ms, which mostly goes to voicemail (SIP kind of drains cellphone battery). I rarely use voice, and people usually text because calling, and most use Signal/Whatsapp anyway. The voip.ms account is also useful for doing SMS, and associating apps with it (such as Signal/WhatsApp).

This is exactly what I do too, but unfortunately I don't think you can get the tablet plan any more without attaching it to a "real" plan.

Re: Twilio Super SIM

#44

Post by toast0 »

sjtgraham wrote: post #39
fermuch wrote: post #29

How is this different to Hologram[1] or EsEye[2]? Hologram seems to offer an api with as much access as twilio's (data usage report, switching between "networks" (what package you buy, which includes certain countries and pricing...) and monthly payment of a fleet of chips. I'm failing to see the added value of twilio, but the more competency the better! [1]: https://hologram.io/ [2]: https://www.eseye.com/

I wish folks would abstain from making "how is this different to X?" comments. They add very little to the conversation.

I didn't click the links for this one. But often they provide an existing similar service, available today. This is great if the idea shown is so great you need it yesterday, and you hadn't seen it before.

Re: Twilio Super SIM

#45

Post by dylanz »

sjtgraham wrote: post #39
fermuch wrote: post #29

How is this different to Hologram[1] or EsEye[2]? Hologram seems to offer an api with as much access as twilio's (data usage report, switching between "networks" (what package you buy, which includes certain countries and pricing...) and monthly payment of a fleet of chips. I'm failing to see the added value of twilio, but the more competency the better! [1]: https://hologram.io/ [2]: https://www.eseye.com/

I wish folks would abstain from making "how is this different to X?" comments. They add very little to the conversation.

I actually like alternative solutions listed when something is posted on HN that I know nothing about. It's obviously best when the poster does some homework and lists the largest differentiators. I've seen the question "how is this different to X?" used, more often than not, in more of a combative context however where the user defends an alternative and then points negatively at the original.

Just my $0.02 and I"m sure there's a better format that could be used, just not sure what that is exactly :)

Re: Twilio Super SIM

#46

Post by kristofferR »

sjtgraham wrote: post #39
fermuch wrote: post #29

How is this different to Hologram[1] or EsEye[2]? Hologram seems to offer an api with as much access as twilio's (data usage report, switching between "networks" (what package you buy, which includes certain countries and pricing...) and monthly payment of a fleet of chips. I'm failing to see the added value of twilio, but the more competency the better! [1]: https://hologram.io/ [2]: https://www.eseye.com/

I wish folks would abstain from making "how is this different to X?" comments. They add very little to the conversation.

Are you kidding? They're one of most useful types of comments, as they both inform the readers of potential differentiators and alternatives.

Re: Twilio Super SIM

#47

Post by walterbell »

> Add new IMSIs through over-the-air updates on a platform with global resilience and redundancy.

How big is the IMSI namespace? How quickly will Twilio put IMSIs back into a shared pool? Will they retain logs of IMSI-eSIM mapping?

Re: Twilio Super SIM

#48

Post by frosted-flakes »

astura wrote: post #24
mtw wrote: post #6

Can this do voice calls? I'm in Canada where every cell plan is more expensive than any other in the world. I have friends who purchase plans from Europe and then use the SIM locally with roaming - turns out it be 10x cheaper, the only drawback being that they have a foreign number

How expensive is a cell phone plan in Canada?

On the main carriers, a 1GB data plan with unlimited Canada-wide calling is $100 after tax. (Occasionally, there will be a discount that all of the carriers do simultaneously where a few GB is added to each plan for free, and you can drive the price down a bit if you've been with them for a while and threaten to leave.)

Each of the big 3 carriers (Rogers, Bell, Telus) also has a "budget" subsidiary brand (Fido, Virgin, Koodo), where the same plan is $50 or $60. However, customer service is absolutely terrible and they ding you for absolutely everything. For example, if you ever need to call customer service, there's a $35 service charge.

This is for Ontario; other provinces have local carriers (Sasktel, Videotron, etc.), but I'm sure pricing is pretty much the same.

Oh, and roaming in the US costs an extra $10 per day to use your regular plan, even if you only send a single SMS. Best not to use it at all or get a local SIM if you're going to be there for a while.

Re: Twilio Super SIM

#49

Post by walterbell »

32032141 wrote: post #2

I've been wondering for a while what the purpose of all the NB band LTE stuff is even for. The going rate is often around 40c/MB in most countries (lower on Twilio by the looks of it, but the same order of magnitude), which seems like there's some very specific high value-per-byte application intended. Some of the technologies people are touting for very long battery life have transmission latencies of 10+ seconds as…

There are also LEO satellite networks on the way.

Is it feasible to use physical RF shielding for devices?

Re: Twilio Super SIM

#50

Post by contingencies »

emdowling wrote: post #21

Twilit has been on an absolute tear over the last 2 years. I wasn’t sure what they would do next to innovate, but their evolution to customer support products, authentication solutions and now this are inspired. What sets them apart is that, although they are a US company, they think globally. This product is for a global market, just like their app-based push authentication is (the huge market being Europe which has…

Counterpoint. While Twilio is interesting, I wonder what percentage of their business is simply multifactor authentication. Having previously used a wide range of companies for SMS connectivity (including multilingual, flash SMS, contact forwarding, and raw PDU features), and implemented VOIP systems with privately owned physical PSTN interface infrastructure, recently I looked at Twilio for inbound VOIP and SMS services across three Asian jurisdictions. It fell far short of our requirements, which were basic (phone and SMS on the same number, one number per country).
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