What Are Coverage Types?

Coverage Type is a concept used to distinguish Soracom services primarily by the area where IoT SIMs can be used: Global or Japan.

While the Soracom User Console allows you to manage resources for both regions, the specific plans, carriers, and services available differ between the two types.

• Global Coverage: Designed for use in various countries around the world.
• Japan Coverage: Designed specifically for use within Japan.

For a comprehensive list of available plans and network operators, refer to the Supported Carriers documentation. For details on the specific features of different SIMs, refer to the SIM Types documentation.

Differences Between Coverage Types

Beyond geographic availability, Global and Japan coverage types differ in available subscription plans, technical endpoints, and service quotas.

Subscription Plans

Each coverage type supports a specific set of subscription plans:

• Global Coverage: Includes plans such as plan01s, plan01s-ldv, planP1, planX1, planX2, planX3, planX3-EU, plan-US, plan-US-max, plan-US-NA, and plan-NT1. Global coverage SIMs (specifically plan01s) also support Subscription Containers, allowing you to add multiple subscriptions to a single SIM.
• Japan Coverage: Includes plans such as plan-D (NTT Docomo), plan-K / plan-K2 (KDDI), plan-DU, and plan-KM1.

API and CLI Configuration

When using developer tools, you must target the specific endpoint or flag corresponding to your SIM's coverage type.

Switching Coverage Types

You can manage SIMs and services for both Global and Japan coverage types within the Soracom User Console. However, the console view is separated by coverage type.

To view or manage resources for a specific region, use the Coverage Type selector located in the User Console header (indicated by Global or Japan followed by a dropdown arrow). This allows you to toggle between the views to access the relevant SIMs and settings.

When switching coverage types for the first time, you may be required to agree to the specific terms and conditions associated with that coverage region before you can proceed.

Enabling and Verifying Coverage Types

A single Soracom account (Operator) can have both Global and Japan coverage types enabled simultaneously.

• Enabling Coverage: If you have not used a specific coverage type before, switching to it in the User Console and agreeing to the terms of service will enable it for your account.
• Verifying via API: You can programmatically check which coverage types are enabled for your account by inspecting the API Token returned during authentication. The token payload contains an operator.coverageTypes array (e.g., ["jp", "g"]), where "g" indicates Global coverage and "jp" indicates Japan coverage.