Soracom Air

Soracom Air is the platform's core connectivity service. It provisions SIM cards across 130+ countries, manages data sessions, and gives you per-device control over bandwidth and routing — all from a single dashboard or API.

What it does

Connector handles the entire lifecycle of device connectivity, from SIM activation to real-time session monitoring.

Key capabilities:

• Global multi-carrier coverage — A single SIM works across carriers and regions without re-provisioning
• Bandwidth control — Set speed tiers per device or group to match your application's needs and budget
• Session monitoring — View active connections, signal quality, and data consumption in real time
• Fleet grouping — Apply shared policies, routing rules, and service configurations to groups of devices
• Usage alerts — Track data consumption with configurable thresholds and automated responses

How it works

1. Register SIMs — Add physical SIMs or provision virtual SIMs to your account
2. Organize into groups — Create groups with shared network policies and service configurations
3. Set bandwidth tiers — Choose tiers that match your application's data requirements
4. Attach services — Route data to cloud destinations via Beam, Funnel, or Harvest
5. Monitor and manage — Use the Console, CLI, or API to observe sessions and handle alerts

Network architecture

Devices with platform SIMs connect through local carrier infrastructure to the Soracom platform. The platform acts as a virtual carrier, providing:

• A private network overlay between your devices and cloud services
• Protocol-level control (DNS, DHCP, metadata service)
• Direct integration points with data routing and analytics services

Traffic from devices stays within the private network unless explicitly configured for public internet access.

SIM types

Type	Use case	Provisioning
Standard IoT	General IoT — LTE/3G global	Physical SIM card
Low Data Volume	Sensor telemetry — NB-IoT/LTE-M	Physical SIM card
Regional	Domestic-only — local carrier	Physical SIM card
Virtual	Software-defined — no physical SIM	WireGuard tunnel

Bandwidth tiers

Tier	Downlink	Uplink	Typical use
Minimum	32 kbps	32 kbps	Sensor telemetry, heartbeats
Slow	128 kbps	128 kbps	Periodic reporting
Standard	512 kbps	512 kbps	General IoT applications
Fast	2 Mbps	2 Mbps	Camera feeds, firmware updates
Ultra	8 Mbps	8 Mbps	High-bandwidth applications

Bandwidth changes take effect immediately and can be automated via event rules or the API.

Common configurations

Data routing to a cloud endpoint

Forward device payloads to AWS IoT Core, Azure IoT Hub, or any HTTP endpoint:

1. Create a group in the Console
2. Add a routing configuration with your cloud endpoint credentials
3. Assign devices to the group
4. Device data automatically routes to your destination

For a complete walkthrough, see the Send Data to Cloud guide.

Usage alerts

Set thresholds on data usage per device or group:

1. Navigate to Event Rules in the Console
2. Create a rule with a data usage trigger
3. Choose an action: email notification, webhook, or bandwidth change

Data collection

Enable the built-in data store on a group to collect and visualize device data without external infrastructure:

1. Create a group and enable the data store
2. Assign devices to the group
3. Devices send data to http://uni.soracom.io
4. View time-series charts in the Console

See Soracom Harvest for details.

Connection settings

All devices need the following connection configuration:

APN: soracom.io
Username: user
Password: user
Authentication: CHAP or PAP

Pricing

Pricing is based on the SIM plan, data usage, and bandwidth tier. See the Pricing page for current rates by region.

Key pricing components:

• Basic charge — Monthly per-device fee (varies by plan)
• Data usage — Per-MB charge based on bandwidth tier
• Additional features — Private networking and add-on services have separate charges

What to scale to next

As your deployment moves beyond initial connectivity, these Scale-tier services are common next steps:

• Soracom VPG — Use when you need private connectivity into your VPC or on-prem network, stricter security boundaries, or enterprise network architecture.
• Soracom Arc — Use when your architecture includes non-cellular networks (LAN/Wi-Fi) and you want them managed with the same policy model as your cellular fleet.
• Direct Cloud Delivery — Use when you want managed cloud adapters and lower operational overhead for getting data into AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud services.

Limits and quotas

Resource	Default limit
Devices per account	10,000
Groups per account	1,000
Bandwidth changes per device per day	10
Metadata queries per device per minute	10

Contact support for limit increases on enterprise accounts.

Related

• Fleet Management — Bulk device operations and lifecycle management
• Hardware Compatibility — Supported devices and setup instructions
• Data Store — Collect and visualize device data
• Quick Start — Connect your first device in minutes
• Connectivity Concepts — How cellular IoT works