Access Point Network

Host your own private GSM (cellular) network

An APN can be used as a primary link to connect devices that are based in remote locations where other connectivity options (ADSL, leased lines) are not available. It can also be used as a secondary link (failover).

APN’s are becoming widely deployed in businesses throughout South Africa and the rest of the globe. They have found their place across various business platforms including corporates, telemetry applications and point-of sale networking. They provide Inter-branch GSM connectivity for business of all size, backup of traditional leased & ADSL lines and various other platforms.

From cost benefits to ease of deployment, APNs provide a fast, secure alternative for business in the arena of wide-area connectivity.

As the communication protocol (3G, edge) is provided on the mobile operators network, redundancy is provided via the cellular provider, lowering cost to client tremendously.

The APN service can either function with standard contract SIM cards or via a cheaper data bundle deployed across multiple SIM cards.

Mobile providers offer three basic type of APN’s

Public APN

Every cellular network provider offers a public APN which allows users to connect via a SIM card. A public APN allows full access to all subscribers. In other words a public network allows all subscribers access to the Internet by default. When a subscriber connects to the internet via your smartphone, tablet or 3G laptop, a connection is made to the public APN of your cellular provider. When a SIM card is provisioned for data use, the public APN of the provider is added by default (eg: APN Vodacom). As the name suggests, this APN is open to general subscribers.

Private APN

A private APN is effectively a private cellular network which as acts a gateway to a company private (LAN). Private APN’s are built on top of a public GSM networks. Although a private APN makes use of the basic infrastructure offered by cellular providers, it runs independently of public networks, with it’s own set of communication rules and protocols. A private APN is highly customizable to suit customer requirements including: type of network connection, allowed IP addresses and security methods to be used.

Corporate APN

A variant of a private APN, a corporate APN is a business connectivity solution providing secure, private and customized remote access to your company LAN through a GSM network. Corporate APN’s bypass public cellular networks and offers the client a private cellular network to allow remote employees to access their company’s private network with total security. This increases productivity & efficiency by enabling employees to remotely access corporate emails, documents and business applications, thus eliminating the need to be in the office. Employee’s use a SIM card which has been authenticated (allowed) on your APN, to gain access to your company’s private LAN. Once a connection has been established, the GSM device is able to exchange data with the customer’s private network. Two tiers of security are provided:

• Only the company can provide employees who need to work remotely with a SIM card securely provisioned on the APN.
• Once the APN has been accessed, the user will still need to input a user name and password to access the company’s private network. Connectivity to the public internet and other useful applications meanwhile stays continuous, but at no threat to the customers’ private network.

Advantages

• Sim Card Security - Only allowed SIM cards can connect to the APN.In the scenario that a SIM is lost / stolen the SIM can simply be de-activated.
• Performance - An APN is not affected by Internet congestion or failure.
• Reduced Data Costs - Through proper management of mobile data access and expenditure.
• Sim Card Management - Usage of SIM cards can be individually monitored and controlled. Inbound and outbound traffic can be segregated for monitoring and reporting purposes. Link speeds can also be defined to reflect bandwidth allocation for specific APN virtual interfaces. SIM cards registered to the APN can be soft locked to only make use of pre-defined data volumes.
• Roaming - A travelling user remains part of the corporate network even outside of S.A. borders (with roaming enabled by the provider).
• Policy Enforcement - Access to the company network (LAN) is restricted to internal policies / rules.
• Networking - Each SIM card receives an IP address from the corporate network providing the user access to allowed network services and applications (e.g. Email & Fileservers).
• Infrastructure - No physical infrastructure required as GSM towers provide connectivity. This eliminates financial outlay for remote sites.
• Customized Reporting - APN’s can be integrated with a 3rd party reporting solution (Aspivia) and provide up to the minute data usage per SIM.
• Network Security - The integrity and privacy of data across the APN is entirely secure as APN traffic does not ever traverse public cellular networks.
• Customized Integration - The APN solution can also be integrated into existing 3rd party IT infrastructure.