The Learnings of Implementing 1oT eSIM in Ampler Bikes

1oT's main expertise and experience has always been in providing a reliable, yet flexible global connectivity solution for the micromobility industry. 

In a recent presentation at the Micromobility World virtual conference, our U.S. Country Manager Andrew Worth shared his knowledge and the key takeaways on implementing 1oT's global connectivity solution in a launch of a second generation of smart e-Bikes.

Today, we’re taking you inside the case study with Ampler Bikes to see how 1oT's solution helped to bring the new version of Ampler e-Bikes to life. 

Implementing 1oT’s Global Connectivity Solution in the Second Generation of Ampler Bikes

What started out as a passion project between three friends in 2016, Ampler Bikes has established itself as an award-winning e-bike manufacturer whose bikes are used by over 23,000 happy riders on a daily basis.

The new version of the bike was set to receive automatic updates as soon as they were released. Meaning, everything happened over the air (OTA), so the customer wouldn’t have to worry about taking the bike to be serviced to get the update. Now, all they needed to do, was to keep their bike app up-to-date and any new developments would automatically be applied to the bike. 

Additionally, the new generation bikes featured a built-in GPS functionality, so the customer would always have a clear overview of their bike’s location, with an option to track their ride statistics.

From the beginning of the project, 1oT’s sales team and technical engineers worked closely with Ampler and their R&D and technology partners to select the best hardware, test different cellular modules, and advise on implementation through the manufacturing process.

Kaur Kask, the Product Manager at Ampler Bikes states: “1oT provided very valuable insight into testing the devices,” and, “Their input on technologies and processes came from 1oT’s previous experience, which enabled us to avoid many issues before launching our bikes.”

Manufacturing phase

It’s often commonly thought that getting cellular connectivity for your smart e-bike is just a matter of attaching the SIM to the device. 

Yet, in order to really set yourself up for success, each SIM card needs to be linked to a specific device to take advantage of the over-the-air SIM management in the production process and later on to properly identify each bike-SIM pairing. 

In such cases, your connectivity partner, such as 1oT, can help your manufacturing partner with detecting each SIM's IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number to attach pair with the bike. 

Another important aspect of already including connectivity in the production phase is the connectivity tests that help you ensure that everything works as it should at the end of the production line. 

For that purpose, 1oT provided a free “test status”, so Ampler's technology partner could run all necessary tests without activating the SIM cards and worrying about the immediate costs.

“Throughout the R&D process, Krakul [Ampler’s technology partner] and 1oT worked hand in hand to find the best possible solution for Ampler,” stated Kristjan Tozen, the CEO of Krakul, “Using 1oT’s connectivity management platform's features, we managed to control all the IoT nodes in the field, their network activity, and data usage."

Selling the bikes

Usually, the sales engine activates as soon as the bikes leave production. As it is hard to predict when a particular bike will be sold, connectivity cost optimization in the selling phase comes in handy. 

The first option to cut down on the connectivity costs would be to switch all SIM cards “Offline”. Yet, when the SIMs are offline, the first touchpoint for the new bike owner won’t be so streamlined. 

1oT has solved it by enabling various shipping and standby modes for the device manufacturer, so the first experience for the customer would be smooth sailing, and the device activation would work right out of the box.

“During the very difficult times in the supply chain in 2022, the various modes offered for the SIMs enabled us to have a good runway to get the production rolling with more flexible capacity and deadlines.” Stated Hannes Laar, the co-founder and CPO of Ampler Bikes.

Once the bike has been sold and is in active use, the device manufacturer needs to make sure that everything functions as planned.

For example, Ampler had planned that each second-generation e-bike would consume between 2–3MB per month. Yet, it was quickly found that the bikes consumed 4-5 times more data than expected.

With the help of 1oT’s reporting and monitoring tools available on the connectivity management platform and some quick reacting on Ampler's end, over-the-air firmware updates were scheduled for all second-generation bikes. 

That solved the overconsumption issue with ease, without the bike owners having to take the bike in to be serviced or even knowing about the issue.

Conclusion

A key takeaway from helping Ampler Bikes launch its second-generation smart e-bikes would be that in the ever-changing micromobility space, everyone needs to be agile and respond quickly to new opportunities, regulatory changes, and everything in between - making a flexible global connectivity solution a must.

Another often overlooked but important aspect is, that working closely and aligning the goals between different parties (R&D, manufacturing, technology, and connectivity) simplifies the launch on a large scale.

Additionally, having an agile, modern connectivity management platform for quick troubleshooting, over-the-air firmware updates, and other actions (that could also be performed via API), greatly simplify the daily operations of any micromobility company.

All that combined, we saw a simple formula that lead to streamlined operations, cost efficiencies, and fantastic customer experiences:

• Flexible global connectivity solution

• Software that supports your business goals

• Having clear communication and collaboration between all partners involved in the project

We are grateful to be a part of the Ampler Bikes journey and look forward to helping other micromobility companies successfully launch their new products and services.