Connecting the world: iBasis plays a Simfony

iBasis is working with reseller partners, who leverage its connectivity and IoT platform to offer a full IoT service to enterprises.

It is difficult to get a handle on exactly how many connected “things” there are currently operating in the world but speak to anyone inside the telecoms sector and one thing is certain: the so-called Internet of Things market is on the rise.

An IoT analytics report put the number of IoT devices in operation at around 13 billion worldwide in summer of 2021. But this could be seriously underestimating the number of connected devices, as other reports indicate that there are up to 35.82 billion IoT devices installed worldwide, and this will reach 75.44 billion by 2025.

Is it any wonder, then, that for many telcos, IoT is seen as one of the next big cash cows? While the technology itself is powered by mobile connectivity, it is not just the mobile players who are taking an interest.

For wholesale telecoms provider iBasis, investment in this area comes at a time when the IoT connectivity market, which is forecast for double-digit growth in the coming years, is experiencing a surge in demand for reliable and secure networks.

US-based iBasis was founded in 1996 to provide wholesale international long-distance services to carriers using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. A decade later, it bought Dutch telco KPN’s wholesale arm making it one of the three largest carriers of international voice traffic in the world, according to analysts TeleGeography.

The firm later became a direct part of KPN until, a decade later, the Dutch national carrier sold the company to a new wholesale player, Tofane Global.

Tofane was founded by Frenchman Alexandre Pébereau, previously CFO of Moroccan telecoms firm Maroc Telecom before spending a decade as the CEO of French incumbent Orange’s international carrier division, a role he left in 2016.

A year later, he launched Tofane, making a splash buy acquiring both iBasis and the international voice carrier business formerly belonging to Altice Europe in France, Portugal, and the Dominican Republic.

Pébereau’s latest move, however, is to expand iBasis’ IoT portfolio with this week’s acquisition of platform-as-a-service provider and mobile virtual network enabler Simfony.

“Simfony is one of our customers and it has been developing platforms for some of our other customers,” Pébereau explains to TechInformed. “We started our partnership in 2017-18. Its platform is unique.”

The acquisition- made for an undisclosed amount – will see iBasis offer what Pébereau claims is “a single-source enabler of global IoT connectivity services” for partners, including telecoms firms and mobile virtual network enablers (MVNEs).

“The distinctive skill [of iBasis] is that we offer global connectivity for steering traffic and with that we offer choice,” he says.

“What Simfony brings is very complementary for us. They bring the business layer, the management of the amenity, and so for our customers, it is easier to use our connectivity and steering platform than without it.”

Founded in 2014, Simfony offers immediate IoT infrastructure to its partners through its white-label IoT Connectivity Platform.

Simfony’s platform includes a full MVNE core network stack, together with all customer support facilities, online charging system, real-time self-service platform, and corresponding APIs.

For Pébereau, the deal is key to speeding up iBasis’ go-to market strategy for IoT, by allowing partners – which include mobile network operators and, perhaps more importantly, network enablers (who are playing a key role in enterprise IoT) to rollout a complete IoT solution.

He adds that some of the more traditional telcos, with massive business clients, ”find it difficult to adapt and to fully listen and customise their products to the expectation of their enterprise clients” when it comes to IoT deployments.

“In the IoT world it is even more sensitive for customers because they need operators to tailor their offering for their use-case. The need to conduct trials and try fast, fail fast. iBasis brings the connectivity, but we are a small company in comparison, so we can listen more closely to their needs and deliver what they expect.”

For a lot of IoT use cases, such as connected vehicles, mobility is key. For iBasis, this is where its reach comes in. According to the company’s website, it can connect to over 700 mobile networks worldwide, meaning partners do not have to negotiate mobile deals with local operators in different countries. It is also a big provider in eSIM technology, which means that IoT devices can have a virtual version of a SIM card, allowing them to connect to various networks.

To help manage IoT devices, iBasis claims that its Global Access for Things utilises a sophisticated traffic analysis engine which provides real time identification and an additional level of control of “thing” data to give advanced data services to their customers.

Thing data control such as fair usage policies, quality control, data path, and usage management and data package enforcement (pre-paid/post-paid, zero rated) can be configured allowing partners to offer flexible and customisable communication packages for “things.”

According to Pébereau, the company has seen significant IoT growth across several verticals, notably automotive, shipping and cruises, logistics, and telework.

Of course, as IoT demand grows, so do the number of players trying to grab a slice of the pie. So how can iBasis – a relatively small player, although one that has snapped up a large portion of its primary voice market – compete with huge international telecoms providers such as Vodafone, Telefonica, or Verizon?

“Our differentiation comes in remembering that in the total value chain of IoT, connectivity is only 10%. So, it means that to the current channel – what we are doing with Simfony – is that we need to do customer service. It is in the upper layers where we can make the biggest difference and that’s why we invested in this acquisition, as it brings extra value to our customers.”

iBasis’ expanded IoT offering comes at a time when the IoT connectivity market, which is forecast for double-digit growth in the coming years, is experiencing a surge in demand for reliable and secure networks

Another key differentiator, according to the iBasis boss, is in how the company approaches security.

Security in the IoT market has long been a key consideration, with the huge increase in the number of connected endpoint devices meaning there is also more opportunities for hackers to exploit.

Many hackers have tried to leverage IoT connections to launch DDoS attacks, and the devices themselves are often unsecured or only have minimal security, meaning robust network security is even more important to enterprises deploying large IoT portfolios. So how does iBasis deal with this?

“That’s what we bring as a carrier,” answers Pébereau. “We’ll be running traffic on our IPX and our roaming network, where we bring an extra level of security. But that’s also why for Simfony it was such a good opportunity to come with us because they were all by themselves.”

“That’s what we bring as a carrier,” answers Pébereau. “We’ll be running traffic on our IPX and our roaming network, where we bring an extra level of security. But that’s also why for Simfony it was such a good opportunity to come with us because they were all by themselves.”

Original plans for how the business would split across the traditional voice unit and IoT has changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He explains: “It is a very important acquisition. It doesn’t change our balance sheet. But we had our plan which was to become a fully deleveraged company by year four or five, and to become a 50% Voice and 50% new services company by year 3.

“Because of the pandemic we are still at 60% of Voice in year four, but we aim – especially with acquisition of Simfony – to get to 50% Voice, 10% IoT and the rest from roaming and messaging. But this is a huge part of that.”