M2M Control Center

    M2M (machine-to-machine) is a solution based on the communication of all kinds of sensors, sensors and other hardware among themselves based on wireless communication. All equipment that by default is not intended to call a friend or to send messages on twitter and fb falls into the scope of M2M, for example, security systems, ATMs and payment terminals, navigators with traffic jams, etc.

    Such smart cars are already lit up in a wide variety of areas, the number of which is growing every year:
    • Banks and payment systems (solutions for connecting ATMs, payment terminals and other devices with the Client’s corporate IT systems, other systems)
    • Transport and logistics (solutions for monitoring the fleet, freight, urban and municipal transport, etc.)
    • Security (solutions for the protection of stationary / mobile objects, video surveillance, etc.)
    • Technological ACS of natural monopolies and industrial enterprises (energy, housing and communal services, etc.)
    • Consumer electronics , vending and other industries.




    Why is this useful:
    1. You can connect remotely almost anywhere, even when the cable to the place to conduct almost impossible. For example, in a house on top of a mountain or on a gas pipe somewhere in the steppe.
    2. You can connect quickly and without laying infrastructure. For example, a security company can reinstall sensors around the entire perimeter without thinking about the cable.
    3. Such a connection is cheaper in any way, especially for corporate use.


    Generally speaking, a completely different type of subscriber is now entering the scene. You will not find new “live” subscribers in the cellular communications market already during the daytime - now even in the most remote village it is difficult to find people without a telephone. But the world of cars as mobile users is only gaining momentum. Sim cards are already starting to appear in sockets, cars, dog collars, so the SkyNet world doesn’t seem so fantastic. Naturally, operators responded to such a change in the market and offered their solutions for working with M2M.

    What do you need from the operators?


    First of all, you need a convenient tool for managing and monitoring the SIM-cards used in the hardware. Any modern company should be able to manage its costs, including mobile communications. One of the most common problems in this area is the misuse of SIM cards. The company's task is to timely determine that the SIM card is used not for monitoring objects, but for accessing the Internet from a dishonest employee’s mobile phone (for example, there was an example when cards were stolen from M2M traffic lights). In essence, we are talking about the task of controlling traffic and communication costs. In this vein, the system for monitoring SIM cards should provide information in real time, so that the client receives online notifications about unauthorized actions from the SIM card or about a sharp increase in traffic that is not typical for this device. Plus it’s good to integrate it with existing ERP and CRM systems.

    A number of operators, such as Vodafone, Telenor, Orange, T-mobile, have developed their own management platforms, spending tens of millions of dollars and several years of work. Others, including AT&T, Telefonica, KPN, Rogers, O2, use partnership solutions from leading suppliers of M2M platforms and MVNO operators (Jasper Wireless, MainGate, ASPider and so on) as part of partnership agreements. Such decisions are gradually beginning to appear in our country, and Beeline Business has become a pioneer in the Russian market in this area. In addition to the standard set of services, such as special M2M SIM cards (“thermo” and chips), Mobile VPN, IP, APN, the operator since the end of 2010 has been offering a special M2M product - “M2M Control Center”. The solution is implemented on the basis of the global Jasper Wireless platform, which AT&T, O2, KPN, TelCel, Rogers, etc. also use.



    How it works?


    In essence, the platform on which the M2M Control Center product is based is a separate billing system that is tailored to work with M2M SIM cards.

    Tariffing


    The most accurate rounding (rounded up to 1 Kb once a day), free on-net roaming throughout the country. It is possible to use the “common traffic pool", which involves the "redistribution" of traffic packets between SIM cards. For example, if a subscriber has 10 SIM-cards with a tariff, the subscription fee of which includes 20 Mb of traffic, then, when using the "common pool", the client will receive a packet of 200 Mb of traffic that any SIM-card can use up. The invoice is issued depending on the last connected TP (i.e. within a month you can switch between packages, tariffs and options as much as you like). If you see that the traffic has been consumed more than planned, you can simply change the tariff to a more profitable one. It is possible (and necessary) to set up automatic tariff changes for different values ​​of SIM card traffic.

    Functional


    The functionality is quite large: starting from the elementary functions for managing your SIM, ending with the ability to configure the operation of SIM cards, “retail billing” and detailed information on the operation of the device (for example, which SGSN was used during a given period or what events occurred on the network).

    For numbers connected to the M2M Control Center service, a separate numbering capacity is allocated in DEF codes 089 and 968. Using DEF code 089 and a separate SMS Center dedicated specifically for this service provides several advantages - extra messages will not be sent to client terminals on SIM it is impossible to send "spam" from short numbers, from external networks, etc. Thus, SMS will only go between numbers connected to the service and directly between the SIM card and the platform. All SMS are displayed in the interface of the Control Center, where you can also see the delivery status and all the detailed information about SMS.

    You can configure the status of the SIM card (active / blocked / ready to activate), change the set of services (for example, disabling GPRS when roaming, connecting / disabling SMS and CSD, etc.), send an API command or notification to the user by e-mail about the occurrence of a given event. It is possible to program events and reactions: a change in charging or, for example, alerts: if a payment terminal that is supposed to raise a GPRS session for each new transaction suddenly becomes too rare to go online, the user will be notified in a timely manner about the problem.



    Access


    To differentiate the rights of users to access the platform, there are different user roles that are changed by the client independently.

    Retail


    Retail Billing functionality allows you to flexibly manage accounts. In general, the client receives from the operator one common bill for using the service. With the help of Retail Billing, you can split it into several small accounts, which can, for example, help a large company to monitor the spending of funds by branches located in different regions. The client can also reassign retail accounts to its internal users, create their own retail tariffs. That is, in fact, a client of the M2M Management Center can, having bought from us a SIM with a tariff with a certain cost of one Mb, give them to their internal users / clients and assign their cost Mb, absolutely any.

    APN


    On the platform, it is possible to create a dedicated APN for the client. This may be necessary if the client requires non-standard traffic routing, for example, so that all traffic from SIM cards, bypassing the public Internet, goes through a dedicated channel directly to the client’s server. Thus significantly increases the security of data transmission.

    VPN


    Using Mobile VPN helps to solve a number of problems:
    • Access to corporate intranet site;
    • Access to corporate mail;
    • Access to corporate databases and file resources;
    • Access to corporate applications based on the TCP \ IP protocol;
    • Secure connection of terminal equipment to the corporate network (POS terminals, ATMs, technological equipment, M2M, etc.);
    • Providing "controlled" Internet access for company employees.


    There is a 2nd option for connecting a mobile Mobile VPN
    1) Mobile VPN with a fixed line operator


    R - Radius server, H - DHCP server

    VPN with FNO:

    2) Mobile VPN without a fixed line operator


    R - Radius server, H - DHCP server

    This connection option is more convenient in that there is no need to lay a fixed channel to the client, it is sufficient to have a broadband connection from the client’s office to the Internet. In this case, the VPN - router, LNS server, Radius server, DHCP server are located on the client side.

    Monitoring


    Having access to the platform’s interface, the user can monitor the status of all of his SIM cards in real time. The built-in diagnostic system allows you to determine the real state of the SIM card, which in case of any problems will help determine at what stage the failure occurs. For example, seeing that the operator is doing well, we can conclude that there is a problem with the end device and vice versa, do not send a repair team to the device (often remote or hard to reach), but understand that the problem is on the operator’s side.



    For more detailed diagnostics, the platform has Spotlight functionality that allows you to determine which SGSN and GGSN the SIM card is registered on, see the parameters of the GPRS session, see all attempts to activate PDP Context, attempts to log in to the network, facts of sending SMS and delivery status, the presence of “empty” sessions when traffic was not transmitted when the GPRS session was raised (this may be normal behavior of the device when it simply “holds” the session, but it may also indicate problems).


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