As organisations rely on IoT to support critical processes and operations, the need for reliable global connectivity has never been more acute. Multi-national enterprises need to operate consistently across regions and countries, with clear information about performance affecting connectivity challenges as well as complying with local regulations. Previous generation efforts, which typically revolved around a lead operator from a company’s home market that partnered with local providers, were fragmented and complex. IoT users suffered from disjointed customer service and poor flexibility when it came to accessing the best available connectivity in each of their respective business locations.
For IoT organisations operating in multiple markets, even an hour of network downtime can cost thousands of dollars. The losses can multiply if the enterprise is at the mercy of an unreachable third-party carrier for restoration – as may be the case when these endpoints are seen as roaming from another carrier on a local network. To get the service they want in all the locations in which they operate, organisations are turning to new models for global IoT connectivity. By selecting specialist connectivity providers that are partnered with a global connectivity platform, IoT organisations can ensure that they receive not only the best available connectivity in each market but also benefit from unified customer care and timely communication of any service-affecting issues.
One successful example is a global implementation of back of house operations at JetBlue, a North American-based airline that operates domestically and globally. JetBlue has built on its existing relationship with Helix Wireless, a specialist provider of global IoT connectivity, and enterprise service enabler, to utilise embedded SIM (eSIM) technology to extend seamless connectivity to its international systems. The new service is delivered in partnership with floLIVE, operator of the world’s largest cellular network for IoT. Using advanced multi-IMSI and eSIM capabilities, floLIVE provides centrally managed local connectivity, low latency performance and full regulatory compliance for devices anywhere in the world.
George Malim, the managing editor of IoT Now, spoke to Mohammed Nabi, the IT manager for Airport Operations Programmes at JetBlue, John Squillace, the founder and chief executive of Helix Wireless, and Curtis Govan, the president for the Americas at floLIVE, to understand how IoT connectivity is supporting these global critical use cases.
George Malim: What specific goals or operational improvements drove JetBlue’s decision to invest significantly in IoT connectivity across its airport operations?
Mohammed Nabi: Our goal was to optimise ground operations, especially for baggage delivery, so we could achieve not only operational efficiencies but also improved customer experience. For us, that meant enhancing the entire baggage journey – from the moment a customer prints their label and scans their bag at the airport, to when they collect it at their destination.
To achieve this, we upgraded our entire baggage system infrastructure, integrating advanced scanners designed for real-time baggage tracking. This gave us the ability to capture and share updates at every stage of the process. Passengers now receive real-time notifications at key touchpoints – when their bag is checked in, loaded onto the aircraft, and arrives at its destination – providing transparency and peace of mind. On the operations side, this real-time data allows us to optimise workflows, reduce delays and improve flight turnaround times.
The previous hardware we used was very old and relied only on 3G connectivity, which was provided by a single carrier. A significant issue was that this carrier didn’t have global coverage so while it was good in many locations, in some locations its local partners did not provide the reliability and quality we needed. They outsourced to a local provider and we were bound to them so, if there was an outage, their service level agreement (SLAs) often didn’t align with our expectations. As a result, problem resolution took far longer than acceptable, putting our operations – and ultimately, our customer experience – at risk.
What we needed was seamless, reliable service, paired with proactive visibility into potential issues so we could respond quickly and avoid delays. That’s why we turned to Helix Wireless, powered by floLIVE’s global connectivity infrastructure, which offered the flexibility, control, and consistency that our operations required.
GM: How is the Helix Wireless and floLIVE offering different to that of a major global cellular operator?
John Squillace: The first thing we do is take a comprehensive look at the problem the customer is trying to solve. Far too often solution providers will jump to the end and say that if you want cellular connectivity, all you have to do is use this SIM and it’s going to work. But the reality on the ground is far more complex, and many of these providers lack true insight into what happens at each location.
We always start by listening to what the customer is trying to achieve – what their operational goals are, how those goals translate into their connectivity needs, and what’s required to support that solution end-to-end. In floLIVE, we found a partner that shares our passion for technology and the same commitment to simplifying cellular connectivity, which, frankly, is anything but simple. Our shared mission is to remove that complexity and make it as easy as possible for our customers. A big part of providing resilient service in every location is enabled through floLIVE’s local mobile network access to more than one carrier – avoiding the problem that JetBlue experienced with its legacy system.
One of the key differentiators in our JetBlue solution is simple and comprehensive control. With floLIVE’s Connectivity Management Platform (CMP), we have real-time visibility and the ability to switch between mobile networks seamlessly, ensuring our customers always get the performance they need, wherever they are. But more importantly, our job is to be available whenever and wherever the customer needs us. That means being responsive, knowing what’s happening in the network at all times, and keeping customers informed – ideally before any issue impacts their operations.
The tenet of our partnership with floLIVE is that we are one team. This partnership allows us to know what’s happening in the network, keep customers informed of issues, and to fix issues as quickly as possible. In addition, we provide customers like JetBlue with real-time visibility into the experiences being delivered and performance metrics such as latency and service quality.
Curtis Govan: It’s not just about providing connectivity. Our partnership with Helix Wireless is about solving real business challenges together. Helix brings deep experience in enterprise IoT, especially in knowing how to tailor solutions for companies like JetBlue. We combine that with floLIVE’s global core network and multi-IMSI technology to build solutions that fit each customer’s exact needs.
Helix knows the right questions to ask – they don’t just offer a standard solution, they get to the heart of what’s needed to keep operations running smoothly. Together, we ensure real-time connectivity, seamless carrier switching and regulatory compliance across regions.
But more than that, we work closely together every step of the way. We share insights on network performance, solve issues fast and keep open communication – so customers like JetBlue can keep things running without surprises.
Today, best-effort connectivity isn’t enough. Companies need real-time data, full control over their networks and always-on connectivity to maintain high service quality and avoid costly disruptions. That’s exactly what we deliver – deep control over the entire stack, ensuring the performance, reliability, and uptime they count on.
JS: There’s no shortcut to doing the hard work. We’re able in some cases to go and test the connectivity. For example, we performed robust testing and support in Florida to ensure that if you bring 250,000 extra people to the F1 Grand Prix in Miami, the network is going to work. We’ve spent the time getting the information from the hardware makers to ensure that our customers’ solutions are definitely going to work. It’s no good having people 13 hours apart in different time zones with partners getting advice from people who shouldn’t be giving it.
GM: Mohammed, why did you choose Helix Wireless and floLIVE?
MN: Reliability and performance are the biggest factors for us. Our aircraft data teams had already been using Helix Wireless and we had heard a lot of good feedback from them. Support was also a major factor. The support we get from Helix Wireless has been very good and the speed of resolution has been fantastic, which greatly improves our operational performance.
The flight delays caused by baggage issues that we used to get two and a half years ago have now gone down by 60-70% because the service has improved. The technology is better and the reliability is great. In addition, airlines are always looking to improve cost efficiency and this solution helps us avoid substantial costs in our routine operations as well as reducing penalties and compensation payouts. I really appreciate notifications of planned maintenance ahead of time which enables us to go to manual processes in advance.
Don’t forget, the stakes on the baggage side can be high. Any time we do not load all the bags on
time, it results in a flight delay, and every delayed take-off causes a financial penalty to JetBlue. In addition, there is also compensation to be paid to any customer whose bags are left behind, so there is a substantial financial upside for optimising our operations and avoiding errors. Optimising these operations with Helix and floLIVE has delivered real operational and financial benefits for JetBlue.
GM: What have you learned about deploying in regulated, mission critical environments where the costs of failure can be measured in thousands of dollars per hour?
JS: It’s not for the faint-hearted, that’s for sure. In regulated, mission critical environments, failure comes at a real cost – sometimes thousands of dollars per hour. What we’ve learned is that you can’t just hope things work – you have to build for failure and be ready for it.
That’s why our solutions are rigorously tested and always include redundancy, especially through our smart SIM offerings. If one network has an issue, we can switch to another carrier seamlessly – because in these environments, you can’t afford downtime.
And yes, Murphy’s Law is real – something will eventually go wrong. But with the flexibility we’ve built into our solutions, we ensure that when it does, we’re ready to adapt and keep things running smoothly for our customers.
GM: Curtis, are you seeing increased demand from sectors where downtime has a dollar value?
CG: Yes, 100%. We’re seeing increases in demand from sectors where best effort is no longer enough. Companies like JetBlue operate in a highly competitive market and reliable connectivity gives them an edge over competitors. It’s not just aviation. In industries like security and healthcare, where critical assets or life-saving medicines need to be tracked in real-time, downtime simply isn’t an option. There is growing awareness across multiple industries of the harm caused by lost revenue or downgraded service caused by connectivity interruptions or high latency.
There is a strong need for resilient global connectivity. Where floLIVE is different from other IoT connectivity providers is that we own the entire technology stack, which lets us tailor solutions to fit each customer’s exact needs. Instead of relying on one carrier, we provide access to two or more carriers, giving customers the flexibility to switch if needed to maintain connectivity. With our distributed core network, we can ensure low latency and consistent performance wherever our customers operate.
GM: Looking ahead, how is floLIVE preparing for the next wave of IoT requirements? Are there emerging technologies, regulations or trends that floLIVE is already addressing?
CG: It’s a fascinating time in the IoT industry right now. We’re seeing the second iteration of 3GPP innovation. The first was the introduction of LTE Cat-M and narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) and now, the second wave encompasses integrated SIM (iSIM) and SGP.32. Those technologies will standardise shortly and provide a base for made-for-IoT connectivity which will take the marketplace away from the legacy approach of positioning IoT connectivity as a subset of consumer mobile technology.
We’re not waiting for these standards to finalise. We’ve already moved ahead with enterprise projects involving iSIM, and we’re actively working on SGP.32 solutions in advance of full standardisation. We took a similar approach with our multi-IMSI solution, which has now been successfully deployed in the market for over a decade.
Technology in general is evolving and the sunset of 3G is coming. Our architecture is built so that if one network sunsets, customers can move to another. Partners like Helix Wireless are always looking ahead as well to ensure that they can continue to be trusted advisors to their customers. We’re engaged in development for emerging network technologies such as 5G Red Cap as well and will be ready for adoption by customers and partners when the marketplace demands them.
Beyond cellular, we’ve integrated satellite connectivity into our offering, enabling reliable connections even in remote and hard-to-reach areas. This is a critical piece for global IoT deployments where terrestrial coverage may not be enough.
We also act as an aggregator, integrating our Connectivity Management Platform (CMP) with other connectivity platforms to give customers the flexibility to manage multiple connectivity ecosystems in one place. Whether they use floLIVE exclusively or alongside other CMPs, we make it easy to manage.
In addition, floLIVE supports voice over LTE (VoLTE) for IoT use cases that require voice services, and through our MVNE offering, we help partners and enterprises launch their own IoT connectivity solutions, leveraging our global infrastructure to speed product to market without the burden of building from scratch.
This approach ensures that our customers stay flexible, future-ready and always connected – no matter where their devices are deployed or how the market evolves.
GM: Mohammed, to conclude please can you provide an example of how JetBlue has been able to improve processes and achieve its goals thanks to the Helix Wireless and floLIVE solution?
MN: From the operations side, the technology has made the processing of bags much simpler. The feedback we are receiving from our international cities is amazing. My team was involved in adding St Croix in the Caribbean as a new station just before Christmas and everything was a breeze, taking only a week to set up with the Helix Wireless team. From testing to training and first response, the team’s feedback was: “Wow, this is quick.”
For the inaugural flight we had 100 bags to be handled. Normally, that would take 15 to 20 minutes,
but with this setup, we managed it in 10 minutes. That level of efficiency doesn’t just improve operations – it boosts crew morale because they have tools that work and processes that flow smoothly.
Meanwhile, on the customer side, the baggage journey the customer experiences is enhanced. They have the confidence that their bag is on the plane and they will get it at their destination. Finally, when they know the bag is on the plane, we also know there will be no penalties, no compensation and no dissatisfaction.
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