Can You Deploy Your IoT Devices Globally Without Using the Internet?

Can you deploy a cellular Internet of Things device anywhere across the globe without using the public internet? The answer is perhaps surprisingly yes. Of course, a connection is still needed, but it does not require the internet as we know it and make use of daily.

 Instead, data can travel from the mobile network operator’s backbone network to their end destination through dedicated fibers. This means that you bypass the public Internet, which significantly reduces the attack surface for hackers to exploit. The name of this solution is  ‘interconnect’ and comes in the form of a “Private Interconnect”, which is directed towards private servers. or “Cloud Interconnect”, where data takes a direct route towards the datacenter of your cloud service provider.

Why are interconnect services important?

When data is leaving the backbone fiber of an operator (a closed environment) and travels towards on-premise servers or the datacenter of a cloud provider, the connection is vulnerable to attack as it then passes through the public internet. Many companies use a VPN to protect this part of the data transmission. However, a VPN still uses the public internet, and even if encrypted it is still exposed to denial-of-service attacks. Further, VPNs are prone to increase latency which makes it ill-suited for a number of applications.

When it comes LPWAN technologies packet loss is a common problem, sometimes ranging up to two-digit figures. This not only causes headaches for the people responsible for troubleshooting, it can ultimately destroy the business case for a deployment as too many resources are spent managing the application itself and less time is spent on reaping the benefits of the data generated.

And this is where an alternative is needed. By using a Cloud or Private Interconnect not only is security improved but stability also increases. For LPWAN technologies such as NB-IoT and LTE-M, improved stability leads to fewer packages lost and less power consumed.

In essence, a Private- or Cloud Interconnect connection lowers latency and increases security while improving control and manageability in a manner that resembles deploying your own global LAN-network.