What is a Subscription Container?
Subscription containers are a feature of plan01s SIM cards and eSIMs that allows you to add extra subscription plans to the same SIM. This allows the SIM to unlock lower data rates in specific regions or enhance coverage to more countries and networks.
What are the technical requirements on the device side for use?
- Device Must support SMS MO/MT (required for OTA)
- Device Must support USAT (USIM Application Toolkit) defined in 3GPP 31.111, especially supporting REFRESH, PROVIDE LOCAL INFORMATION, Event Download (location status), Event Download (SMS-PP data download), SEND SHORT MESSAGE are mandatory.
- Device Must support appropriate frequency band of target country’s MNO
What modules have been tested and verified to work?
Most of the major modules work w/o any issues. Here is the list of Soracom verified modules.
| Module vendor | Product code |
| Quectel | UG96 |
| Quectel | EC21 |
| Quectel | EC25 |
| Quectel | EG21 |
| Quectel | EG25 |
| Quectel | BG96 |
| Quectel | BG95 |
| Quectel | BG77 |
| Telit | LE910-JN1 |
| U-blox | SARA U201 |
| U-blox | TOBY-L220 |
| U-blox | SARA R410M |
| Thales | ELS31 |
| Thales | MV31-W |
| SIMCOM | SIM7100 |
| Sierra | HL7800 |
| Murata | Type 1WG/1SC |
| Sequans | Monarch GM01Q |
| Taiyo Yuden | CL3ADAH2Z / CL2ADAH2Z |
When the OTA Download is triggered?
If the device is online, the OTA download is immediately triggered right after the customer triggers it via console or API. If the device is offline, the download will be triggered the next time when the device is attached to the network.
How long does it take to complete OTA?
It depends on device performance and network conditions but normally it takes 25 seconds to 2-3 minutes to complete.
What happens if OTA fails?
Retry flow works and the OTA data will be resent for up to 24 hours under retransmission control from Soracom SMSC (Short Message Service Center).
What if it still fails after the retry?
After 24 hours of retries, the OTA server will trigger the OTA again (up to 3 days).
Is it possible to know explicitly whether the OTA failed or not?
The status of the subscription on the console will show “FAILED”.
What other SIM status can I see on the console or API?
- instock: OTA is ready for delivery and waiting for device network connection
- shipped: OTA triggered and download in progress
- ready: OTA download is complete (successful) and waiting for network connection of the device
- active: network connection has been successfully established with the downloaded new plan
Can I delete the subscriptions I have added?
No, deleting is not supported.
Are there any restrictions for each subscription?
When a new plan is added, the subscription container engine automatically selects and switches the most suitable plan in the country from among multiple subscriptions upon receiving a network information notification from the device to the SIM.
Depending on a subscription you downloaded, the preferred subscription automatically selected by the SIM card changes. Please see the following link for more information.
https://developers.soracom.io/en/docs/air/subscription-containers/