Mobile data used to mean a few phones and a spare laptop SIM. Today it runs payment terminals, CCTV, alarm panels, delivery vans and, increasingly, entire branch sites, often without the IT department being fully aware of how much is connected. For MSPs, ISPs and telecoms resellers, that makes mobile data one of the most accessible routes to new recurring revenue. The demand is already inside the businesses you serve. What is usually missing is a partner who goes looking for it.

Why the opportunity is growing now

Several things are pushing more mobile data into more parts of the average business at the same time.

The biggest is the PSTN switch-off. With the UK’s copper phone network due to close in January 2027, every alarm panel, lift line, payment terminal and telecare unit still running over a copper line needs a new way to connect. In most cases a SIM is quicker and cheaper than waiting for a fibre install, and a partner can pre-configure a cellular gateway, post it out and have it live the same day.

Connected devices are the second driver. Tills, digital signage, cameras and sensors increasingly need their own connection rather than sharing the office network, whether for security, PCI compliance or simply because there is no office network where they are installed.

Then there are sites that can’t wait for a fixed line, or won’t be around long enough to justify one: pop-up shops, construction compounds, events and temporary offices. Add mobile workforces and vehicles that need connectivity wherever they are, and the list of places a SIM is the right answer keeps growing.

The networks have caught up as well. Mature 4G and 5G now make a cellular router a credible primary connection for a shop or a site office, not just a backup. Where there is no mobile coverage at all, low Earth orbit satellite services such as Starlink mean “no signal” is no longer a reason to say no.

The common thread is that customers aren’t really buying SIMs. They are buying a till that takes payments, a camera that reports in, a van they can track or an alarm that still works after the copper goes. Framing the conversation around that outcome is what turns a technical enquiry into a real opportunity.

Why mobile data is good business for MSPs

Mobile data is billed monthly and, once a SIM is deployed inside a payment terminal, tracker or alarm, it tends to stay live for the working life of that device. That can mean years of recurring revenue from a single sale, with very little effort needed to keep it.

It also grows inside accounts. A customer who starts with connectivity for one site or one use case often extends it to more sites, more vehicles or a second use case once they see it working. That growth comes from customers who already trust you, so it costs far less to win than a new logo.

And it helps retention. A customer relying on you to keep critical connectivity running, with proper monitoring and support behind it, has a strong reason to stay and is much harder for a competitor to prise away than one buying SIMs on price.

The opportunity may already be in your customer base

For many MSPs the biggest mobile data opportunity is an existing customer looked at through a different lens. Your usual contact is probably in IT, but the decisions about connected devices often sit elsewhere: with facilities teams running multiple sites, operations managers responsible for equipment in the field, fleet managers tracking vehicles, or security teams looking after cameras and alarms.

Those teams may be buying connectivity direct from a network, managing it informally, or living with poor visibility because nobody has offered them anything better. They rarely think of themselves as buying “mobile data” at all. They think of themselves as running a fleet or keeping a store open. Asking your existing contact who else in the business looks after devices, vehicles or remote sites is often all it takes to uncover an opportunity you didn’t know was there.

Where the strongest opportunities are

The best opportunities tend to be with organisations running lots of devices, sites or vehicles, where the case for managed, centrally controlled connectivity is clearest. The sectors below are where we see that pattern most often.

Retail

Retailers use mobile connectivity for payment terminals, digital signage and kiosks, often on a separate connection to keep card traffic away from in-store Wi-Fi. Pop-up and seasonal stores need to be trading within days of signing a lease, and every store needs a backup that keeps card payments running if the main line fails.

Transport and logistics

Vehicle tracking and telematics need a reliable connection in every vehicle, not just at the depot. Ticketing systems on buses and trains depend on mobile data to take payments and validate journeys, and some operators now offer passenger Wi-Fi as well. These deployments usually involve large numbers of SIMs and a steady flow of new vehicles, so they suit a managed service with a repeatable rollout process.

Security, alarms and monitoring

CCTV, intruder alarms, fire alarm signalling and ANPR cameras frequently need their own connectivity, and many of them are currently on copper lines that won’t survive the PSTN switch-off. Construction sites need security systems connected from day one and removed just as quickly when the project ends. For unattended equipment, the mobile connection is the only way it can report a fault or raise an alarm, so a dropped connection is a real security gap, not an inconvenience.

Public sector and healthcare

Ambulances need dependable connectivity on the move. Telecare alarms, virtual wards and remote monitoring all rely on a stable connection in patients’ homes, and telecare in particular is being pushed onto cellular by the PSTN switch-off. Community staff visiting patients need to work wherever they are. These are carefully governed environments, so any proposal needs to fit the organisation’s security, compliance and procurement requirements from the start.

Remote and temporary sites

Farms, utilities infrastructure, marinas, construction compounds and events often sit where fixed lines are slow, expensive or simply unavailable. Cellular covers most of them, and satellite can fill the gaps or run as the primary link with cellular as backup, so the customer just sees a connection that works.

How to find and qualify an opportunity

Finding mobile data opportunities consistently comes down to asking the right questions about the customer’s operation, rather than pitching a product. These are the ones we find most useful:

How to find and qualify an opportunity

Finding mobile data opportunities consistently comes down to asking the right questions about the customer’s operation, rather than pitching a product. These are the ones we find most useful:

• What devices need to stay connected (tills, cameras, alarms, trackers, sensors, tablets) and roughly how many?
• How many sites do you run, are any temporary, and how quickly would a new site need to be live?
• Is anything still running over a copper phone line that will be affected by the PSTN switch-off?
• Who supplies that connectivity today, and does anyone have a complete view of what’s deployed?
• What happens if the main connection fails, and what does an hour of downtime cost?
• Is usage steady or unpredictable, and have there been surprise bills?
• Does any of the traffic carry sensitive data that should stay off the public internet?
• Is this a one-off deployment or an ongoing programme, and who owns it day to day?

Ask more than one person if you can. An IT manager may only see part of the picture, while facilities or operations may know about connectivity needs that have never been discussed with IT.

Once you have the answers, qualifying the opportunity is mostly common sense. Is mobile really the right answer to the problem? How many connections are involved now, and how many in two years? Does coverage at the relevant sites support it? When does it need to be live, and is that realistic? Who holds the budget, and is it the person you’re talking to? If the answers stack up, it is worth pursuing properly.

How the Mobile-data Revenue Generator™ helps

Doing this consistently across a whole customer base is hard to manage from memory, which is why we created the Mobile-data Revenue Generator™ (MRG™). The MRG is Jola’s sales enablement programme for partners. It gives your team a structured way to find mobile data opportunities across your accounts, qualify them properly and move them through to a live, billable service, with support from Jola at each stage.

Jola has more than 1,600 partners, and those using the MRG grow 41% faster than those who don’t. Between them, MRG partners generate around £12 million of recurring revenue a year.

Why work with a channel-only specialist?

Delivering mobile data well across sectors as different as retail, logistics, security and healthcare takes specialist knowledge that general connectivity providers don’t always have. It also matters who you are working with. A supplier that sells direct to end customers, even occasionally, can end up competing with you for the same account.

Jola has been channel-only since it was founded in 2014. We have never sold direct to an end customer, and our whole business depends on our partners succeeding, so the customer relationship and the revenue it creates stay with you. As part of the Wireless Logic Group, which connects more than 20 million devices, we combine that channel focus with the scale, network relationships and ISO 27001 certified security of one of the largest IoT connectivity providers in the world.

Next steps

The mobile data opportunity isn’t hypothetical. It is already sitting inside your customers’ businesses, in devices, sites and vehicles that depend on connectivity every day. If you want a more consistent way to find it and turn it into recurring revenue, get in touch to book an MRG session with our team. And when your SIM estate starts to grow, read our companion guide, A Guide to Managing Business SIM Cards at Scale.

Frequently asked questions