Broadcasting & Events Data SIM Cards
Multi-network data SIMs for live streaming, outside broadcast and temporary event connectivity — where the venue's one good network is the one the whole crowd is already on.
Load-in is the first time anyone checks the signal
A venue is chosen for the audience, not the coverage, and the recce rarely includes a modem. Then ten thousand people arrive with phones and the cell you tested on an empty Tuesday is a different animal.
Up to four networks, one SIM
In the UK, France and Spain a Wave SIM reaches four operators. In Germany, Italy and Ireland, three. Each SIM in a bonded encoder attaches to whichever operator is strongest, so you are not sourcing from four carriers to get the spread.
Buy per event, not per year
30-day plans bought outright suit a production that does a festival in June and a conference in October. No monthly tie between them, and refills up to 100 GB if a show runs long.
Profile changes without opening the kit
On hardware that supports remote provisioning we load or switch the network profile for you from our side. It depends on the device, so ask us whether yours qualifies.
What a single network costs you
In live production the failure is public, immediate and un-repeatable.
The crowd eats the cell
At doors-open the dominant operator at a venue is carrying every selfie upload in the building. An encoder on that one network is competing with the audience it is filming. Spreading legs across operators is how you stop that.
Venues with one real option
Arenas, stadia and rural festival sites often have one operator with proper capacity and three with a token presence. Reaching all of them lets the modem find the capacity rather than inheriting a bad guess.
There is no second take
A stream that drops during the headline act is gone. Unlike a sensor or a terminal, nothing here can be retried later — which is why production companies carry more legs than they think they need.
What you'll be connecting
One very heavy application and a set of event-site devices that are light but have to work on the day.
What a show actually uses
Streaming is pure arithmetic, so here it is rather than a reassurance.
One encoder leg, per hour
At 5 Mbps aggregate, each hour of streaming is about 2.25 GB in total, split across the legs. A three-hour show is around 7 GB.
Site devices
Scanners, terminals, signage and talkback are each under 0.5 GB for a whole event. They need reliability, not volume.
A season of events
A production doing a show a week is into hundreds of GB — a pooled-data conversation, with no cap, rather than a stack of individual plans.
Work it from the bitrate: 1 Mbps running constantly is about 450 MB an hour. Multiply by your aggregate rate and your running time, then add a third for headroom, because the stream always runs longer than the running order says. For a single event, 25 GB plans on each leg with a refill on standby is the pattern; for a season, pool it.
These are indicative figures, not measurements of your encoder. Tell us the bitrate, leg count and hours and we will size it exactly before you buy.
Plans for productions and events
Prices shown in your own currency. Encoders almost always take a standard SIM, so check the slots before choosing the eSIM. For a one-off event the 25 GB plan per leg is the usual choice; for regular production, pooled data.
Europe 25 GB / 12 Months
Most boughtStandard SIM
Europe 12 GB / 12 Months
Standard SIM
Running a season of events, or a lot of legs? Talk to us about pooled data — uncapped and quoted on the hours.
Common questions
Can one SIM carry a live broadcast?
Not reliably, and nobody serious tries. Live production uses a bonded encoder with several SIMs so that no single leg dropping takes the stream down. Our SIMs are what go in those slots. What multi-network adds is that each leg can reach several operators rather than being locked to one, which matters most at a congested venue.
Do your SIMs give us network diversity across the legs?
Each SIM attaches to the strongest operator it can reach, independently, so legs tend to spread across networks naturally at a venue where one is congested. If your workflow needs each leg guaranteed on a different operator, tell us before you order — that is a specific requirement and we would rather confirm it than let you assume it.
How much data does an hour of streaming use?
About 450 MB per Mbps per hour. A 5 Mbps aggregate stream is roughly 2.25 GB an hour, split across however many legs you are running. Add a third for headroom; the stream always runs over. If you do not know the bitrate, the encoder's status page will show it.
Does the APN change when the SIM switches network?
No. The APN is set once in the encoder or router and stays put through reselection, so one profile covers every SIM in the kit bag regardless of which operator a leg lands on.
What if the show runs long and we burn through the plan?
Nothing auto-bills at a surprise rate. Refills on a prepaid plan go up to 100 GB and can be applied during the event, and the portal can notify you before a plan runs out rather than after. For a production company doing regular shows, pooled data has no cap and takes this question off the running order entirely.
Tell us about the show
Bitrate, legs, hours, and how many events a year. We'll size it and send a quote, usually the same day.