Teradek Data is the Pro eSIM For Broadcasters

Wireless Video

by Julian MitchellMay 3^rd, 2023

The professionalizing of a SIM card is a sign of the data times. At NAB, Teradek provided a look at how your transfer of valuable cellular data can be protected, prioritized, and ring-fenced for maximum travel. But what’s involved with these new eSIMs?

Data carriers are increasingly generous with their plans, with unlimited data SIMs becoming very affordable. This is great news for the regular consumer, but may hamper broadcasters and content creators who rely on fast and reliable data routes to broadcast or edit rooms-especially in the era of Cloud collaboration.

Teradek has launched their own data solution, which is effectively a business-class eSIM option, allowing your SIM to be configurable to virtually any country’s native carrier worldwide. In this class of data, there are several choices, but they are limited to business-class services to US carriers, for now.

AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are the first available networks, with Canada, Europe, LATAM, and APAC countries coming soon. Further information on the location of new services is available here.

However, with these same eSIM cards, Teradek can immediately offer a multi-carrier experience which allows their Prism video encoders, for instance, to lock onto a carrier when it becomes available. An example would be that if you travel to Portugal, you can lock onto MEO, NOS, or Vodafone networks there, using the same eSIM package.

Tier 1 data availability

But there is also another level to the new Teradek service, which can provide data travel just below a first responder level. Tier 1 data is a premium private network priority implementation on certain carriers, which means that in crowded areas, you can attain priority data status to put you on top of congestion. 

Initial agreements for this tier include the US and Canadian carriers Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and US Cellular, with Rogers and Bell in Canada.

The advantages of Teradek Data

As you can imagine, Teradek’s new eSIMs are a huge step up from what we experience as consumers. At the very least, they promise the end of data throttling, which is when your internet service provider deliberately restricts your Internet bandwidth or speed without telling you. 

You can also use as much data as you need, and without a monthly contract, as the agreements are based on ‘annual buckets’ of data. (You get one data bucket that all the eSIMs on your account can share. Buckets last 12 months and can be stacked, and can be anywhere from 50GB to 8TB.

What Teradek devices work with the new data plans?

Teradek Data can only be used with applications that need a data SIM, including third-party modems, smart devices, and other bonding solutions. More specifically, initial products that work with the new Data eSIMs are Teradek Node II compatible devices, like the new Prism Mobile, Prism Flex, Bond Backpack, and Vidiu Go. 

As for cost, Teradek is asking you to contact them, which is fair, as everyone’s requirements will be different. But to give you an idea of how much data you will use, use this equation: if you stream at an average of 4 Mbps, you will use about 1.8 GB/per hour. Usage for a 2-hour event with setup time will run about 4 GBs. Add the cost per MB and you’ll have your answer.

If you are a broadcaster with bonded cellular requirements, does an eSIM plan like this interest you or are there alternatives that make more sense? Let us know in the comments below.