About this episode
In this episode of The IoT Podcast, host Jake Gilbert, Head of 5V Tech, sits down with Jan Buis, CCO & Co-Founder of The IoT Guide, to explore the challenges businesses face when managing connectivity at scale and why more flexible models could offer a different approach.
Jan shares his journey from telecoms and Wi-Fi into IoT, including how the IoT Guide evolved from an MVP focused on connectivity challenges into a platform designed to help businesses manage multiple connectivity solutions. The conversation also looks at the limitations of traditional prepaid and postpaid models, and how the IoT Guide’s wallet approach combines elements of both.
Jake and Jan also discuss:
- Why IoT connectivity becomes more complex as deployments scale
- The challenges of prepaid and postpaid connectivity models
- How the wallet model works and where it can be useful
- Why hardware vendors are increasingly looking at connectivity as an additional service
- How white-label connectivity can bring vendors closer to their customers
- Use cases including backup connectivity and consumer wearables
- The growing role of eSIM and flexible connectivity models
- What hardware vendors should consider when choosing a connectivity partner
- Why understanding how customers use connected products is so important
The episode also looks ahead at how flexible, usagebased connectivity could develop, including the role of eSIM profiles and changing approaches to connectivity in IoT.
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction to IoT Guide
02:57 – The evolution of IoT connectivity
04:26 – Guiding businesses through connectivity
07:03 – Connectivity challenges at scale
09:00 – Prepaid vs postpaid
10:26 – The wallet model
11:46 – Backup connectivity use cases
14:31 – Connectivity as a service
16:39 – How the IoT Guide began
18:48 – Simplifying connectivity
20:58 – Selling connectivity as a service
24:14 – White-label connectivity
29:05 – Consumer wearables
32:02 – Bringing vendors closer to customers
35:52 – The future of eSIM
37:53 – Will flexible models become standard?
40:01 – Choosing a connectivity partner
42:24 – Learning from customer usage
44:28 – The importance of connectivity
45:23 – Final thoughts
About our guest
The IoT Guide is an IoT connectivity provider helping businesses navigate the complexity of connected devices with flexible, transparent and scalable solutions. Its offering includes multi-network IoT SIMs, flexible prepaid connectivity, SIM management and end-to-end solutions for resellers and hardware vendors.
Find out more: Here