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Machine To Machine
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Service Plans / Machine To Machine
Satellite Data Plans for Unattended Machine to Machine Devices
These are airtime plans for equipment that reports on its own: pipeline sensors, remote power stations, tank monitors, tracked assets. No one is watching a screen, so the plan just needs to move small amounts of data reliably, on a schedule, for months at a time.
Start here
How to choose between BGAN M2M and Short Burst Data
The two plan families on this page cover different jobs. BGAN M2M moves scheduled data in megabyte chunks over Inmarsat, built for equipment that reports on a routine. SBD moves tiny message packets over Iridium, built for alerts and pings from devices with very little power to spare.
Step 1
Work out the message size
SCADA readings, tank levels and status packets from a remote station are usually small but frequent. If a device sends readings measured in kilobytes several times a day, or short bursts on demand, Short Burst Data fits. If it needs to move megabytes on a scheduled poll, such as compressed sensor logs or configuration files, BGAN M2M is the fit. Check what your equipment vendor specifies for typical payload size before picking either.
Step 2
Check the power source
SBD terminals are built for solar or battery power in the field, drawing very little current between transmissions, which is why they show up on remote environmental sensors and tracking beacons that may sit untouched for a year. BGAN M2M terminals are compact and power-efficient too, but they are built around a scheduled data connection rather than a single short burst, so they suit a site with a steadier power supply.
Step 3
Match coverage to the site
Iridium's low earth orbit network, which carries SBD, covers the entire planet including both poles, so a device on an Arctic research platform or a Southern Ocean buoy still reports in. Inmarsat, which carries BGAN M2M, covers the globe except the polar regions, which is not a limitation for the great majority of pipeline, utility and agricultural sites this category serves.
Step 4
Decide on term length
BGAN M2M plans run on 12, 24 or 36-month terms, which suits a fixed installation you expect to leave in place for years, such as a utility station or a renewable energy site. SBD's monthly KB allowances suit equipment that might be redeployed, reconfigured or swapped between assets more often, since there is no multi-year commitment to work around.
Choose a network
Machine To Machine plans by network
BGAN M2M
InmarsatFor: Fixed, unattended installations such as pipelines, renewable energy sites and utility stations that need scheduled megabyte-scale reporting over a period of years.
Not for: A device that only needs to send a short alert or position ping now and then; that is better served by Short Burst Data.
Plans: Global plans from 2 MB to 20 MB per month on 12, 24 or 36-month terms, plus regional plans from 5 MB to 20 MB.
View BGAN M2M plans →Short Burst Data (SBD)
IridiumFor: Asset tracking, environmental sensors, emergency alerting and industrial telemetry that sends small packets, often on solar or battery power, anywhere on the planet including the poles.
Not for: Equipment that needs to move megabyte-scale files or logs on a schedule; that data volume belongs on BGAN M2M.
Plans: Plans with 0 KB, 12 KB, 17 KB or 30 KB included per month, with a per-KB rate stated on each plan for anything beyond the allowance.
View Short Burst Data (SBD) plans →Side by side
BGAN M2M vs Short Burst Data
| BGAN M2M | Short Burst Data (SBD) | |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Global landmasses outside the polar regions | The whole planet, including both poles |
| Speed class | Scheduled megabyte-scale data | Small message packets, not broadband |
| Plan types | Global and regional plans on 12, 24 or 36-month terms | Monthly KB allowances with a per-KB overage rate |
| Best for | Pipelines, renewable energy, utility stations, environmental monitoring, SCADA | Asset tracking, environmental sensors, emergency alerts, maritime tracking, industrial telemetry |
| Hardware | Compact, power-efficient terminals built for unattended operation | Low-power modules built for solar or battery-powered devices |
Popular picks
Plans people start with
BGAN M2M global data plans
Scheduled megabyte plans for fixed sites that report on a routine, on 12, 24 or 36-month terms.
Short Burst Data monthly plans
Kilobyte allowances for solar and battery-powered devices sending short, frequent packets.
Why unattended equipment needs its own plan category
A remote pipeline valve or a solar-powered tide gauge does not need a data plan sized for a person. It needs a connection that stays up for months without anyone touching it, on hardware that sips power between transmissions. That is a different design problem from a phone plan or a broadband plan, which is why these two networks exist as their own category rather than being folded into the phone service or land data pages. Both BGAN M2M and Short Burst Data terminals are built around that constraint first, throughput second. Devices for both are listed at Machine to Machine devices, alongside the modules integrators build into their own equipment.
Regional versus global BGAN M2M plans
BGAN M2M is sold as global plans and as regional plans. The regional plans come in the same 5, 10 and 20 MB sizes as the global lineup but cover a defined region rather than the whole Inmarsat footprint, and each plan page states which region it serves. If every site your equipment reports from sits inside that region, a regional plan carries the same monthly data with a smaller footprint. If sites are spread more widely, or you expect to redeploy hardware elsewhere later, the global plan avoids having to change plans when the equipment moves.
When to talk to activations before ordering
Term length and terminal model both affect which BGAN M2M or SBD plan actually fits an install, and that is easiest to confirm before hardware ships to a remote site rather than after. Satmodo's activations team provisions the SIM or module and confirms by email once it is live, which is the point to double check message size, term length and coverage against the actual deployment plan. Questions about a specific integration are best routed through support.satmodo.com or by phone at (800) 279-2366 before the order goes in.
Questions
Machine To Machine plan questions, answered
Not covered here? The help centre has dialing guides, activation steps and coverage maps for every network.
Help centreIt moves data between unattended equipment and a central system with no person operating either end. Typical uses on this page are pipeline monitoring, renewable energy sites, utility stations, SCADA reporting, asset tracking and environmental sensors. The equipment reports on a schedule or sends an alert, and the plan is sized for that kind of small, routine traffic rather than for browsing or streaming.
Still not sure which plan fits your equipment
Message size, power source and coverage together decide the right plan more reliably than guessing from the category name. Call (800) 279-2366 with the terminal model and expected reporting schedule and we will match it to a BGAN M2M or SBD plan before you order.
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All Machine To Machine plans
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