Singapore’s largest operator Singtel is reversing the standard MVNO model by piggy-backing on floLIVE’s globally distributed core network to support its new eSIM-based IoT proposition. It has signed a parallel sales deal with Lenovo Connect to targeting automotive OEMs.
In sum – what to know:
New model – Singtel relies on floLIVE’s MVNE platform for local compliance, provisioning, and eSIM lifecycle management in 190+ markets.
Auto focus – Joint go-to-market with Lenovo Connect targets global carmakers, enabled by the new SGP.32 eSIM standard.
Regional edge – Singtel provides local anchorage in APAC’s most regulated markets, with added support for RedCap 5G, MEC, AI.
Singtel is using virtual IoT network operator (MVNO) floLIVE to underpin its new global IoT proposition, which seeks to capitalise on new remote eSIM provisioning (RSP) capabilities, notably for automotive suppliers. In what is, in ways, a reversal of the traditional MVNO dynamic, the Singapore-based operator (MNO) is piggybacking on its MVNO partner’s cloud-based core network, which is presented as globally available and locally compliant.
In March, UK-headquartered floLIVE said it was engaged with both generalist MNOs and specialist MVNOs to put their global IoT traffic onto its cloud system. It is in discussion with the “top five MNOs in the world”, it said at the time. The deal with Singtel shows MNO interest in its proposition is real. Like others, floLIVE is positioning itself as a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE), suddenly – rather than just as a lightweight reseller of MNO capacity.
Singtel’s upgraded global IoT solution is for “enhanced multi-domestic connectivity solution”, it said. The product goes by that name, and complies with sundry regulatory requirements in local markets around the world, whether related to permanent roaming restrictions or localised data processing and storage rules. Singtel said it will be a “single… access point” for IoT connectivity in 190-odd markets, covering all regions.
The setup will see Singtel take charge of IoT sales and support, sometimes via Lenovo Connect – which it has signed with in a parallel channel deal, targeting automotive manufacturers in particular. It will lean on its own licensed infrastructure, as possible, and close MNO partnerships in the Asia region. This covers on-the-ground access and local breakout in certain regulated markets, notably China, Indonesia, and India – where IoT roaming is a challenge.
Permanent roaming restrictions in these markets, plus others like Brazil and Turkey, have been a long-time problem for semi-permanent IoT deployments. Singtel will presumably supply some local anchorage for floLIVE’s core network in the region. But even here, floLIVE’s platform will be the backbone for Singtel’s new ‘Aggregator’ eSIM connectivity management platform (CMP) – for SIM provisioning, profile switching, and other lifecycle operations.
Singtel’s CMP platform is essentially its ‘single pane-of-glass’ orchestrator skin for global eSIM fleets – as per the IoT market’s current terminology. Beyond restricted markets, floLIVE’s core network will carry IoT traffic for Singtel’s customers, and provide regional cloud control over eSIM fleets – via the new SGP.32 standard for remote IoT provisioning. This includes activation of local IMSIs from local operators, whether via Singtel or its roaming partners.
Most of Europe and the Americas will follow this model – with floLIVE handling local traffic, as well as eSIM management and multi-IMSI logic. Singtel said its new solution is augmented by floLIVE’s “global network”, and this way to bring easy management, flexibility, and scalability to cellular IoT fleets. It said it has “provided localised IoT… [to] help enterprises overcome market-specific regulatory hurdles” in the whole Asia-Pacific region since 2022.
The floLIVE set up extends that, and brings local IoT efficiency and compliance across the rest of its roaming footprint. The automotive sector, a major focus for the go-to-market deal with Lenovo Connect, has been the prime market for eSIM so far. Embedded SIM (eSIM) technology has been around since 2016; the new SGP.32 standard, just coming to market, is geared to make it simpler for IoT connectivity, specifically.
The global connected car market is projected to exceed $250 billion by 2030, with Asia-Pacific among the fastest-growing regions, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In-vehicle connectivity is being spurred by the rollout of new electric vehicles (EVs), including for navigation, safety, entertainment, and automation / autonomy features. China is the global leader in EV adoption.
Singtel is the only operator in the region to have “powered connected vehicle programs” for automotive OEMs from the US, Europe, China, and Asia Pacific, it said. Lenovo Connect delivers payment, device management, data collection, and computing into the automotive OEM market.
Singtel highlighted work to support Verizon’s in-bound IoT roaming in the region, as well as its own “pioneering” work with reduced-capability 5G (RedCap), supporting a mid-range of broadband IoT cases, a rung above LTE-based low-power wide-area (LPWA) technologies NB-IoT and LTE-M. It also talked up its work with multi-access edge computing (MEC) and “AI-enhanced orchestration platforms” for performance assurance around IoT data traffic.
Ng Tian Chong, chief executive at Singtel in Singapore said: “With our strong regional presence and strength in international delivery, Singtel is well-placed to help companies seeking to expand into new markets with this transformative global IoT solution that simplifies global connectivity, ensures compliance, and enables scalable device lifecycle management.
“Having laid the foundation with investments in network infrastructure, edge computing, and global partnerships as part of our larger IoT growth strategy, we’re now offering an enhanced… solution to handle the complexities of next-generation IoT applications. We want to enable intelligent, borderless mobility for the future – while laying the groundwork for broader IoT transformation across sectors like healthcare, logistics, industrial automation, retail and smart cities.”
