Telnyx Public IPs: Powering IoT Connectivity

We’re excited to announce that Telnyx Wireless is expanding its feature set! This feature will allow our customers to map public IPs to Telnyx SIMs with a few simple clicks via the Telnyx API or Mission Control Portal. Let’s dive right into what we mean by public IPs and why this feature is beneficial for our customers.

What exactly is an IP address?

Public IP address - A globally unique address given to a device that allows it to be advertised to the public internet.

Private IP address - Not globally unique, and can be shared by several devices within a single local network, which is not directly accessible from the internet. For example, if you have 4 computers in your house, each one could have a private IP address and could connect to each other, but not to external networks.

Dynamic IP address - A temporary address associated with a device that changes each time it connects to the web. Dynamic IP addresses are active for a specific period of time, then they expire.

Static IP address - An address associated with a particular device that cannot be changed.

Private IP vs. public static IP for SIMs

When you buy a Telnyx SIM, it is associated with a dynamic private IP address by default. While private IPs can make requests to the internet, they cannot be reached from other places on the internet—this means customers can connect from their SIM but not to their SIM, which limits usability.

If a customer would like to be able to connect to their SIM, and not just from their SIM, they need a public static IP address. A public static IP gives a SIM an address on the public internet so it can be reached from anywhere that has internet access.

Telnyx’s public static IP address feature

Telnyx’s new feature will allow customers to purchase a public static IP address for their SIMs. Specifically, in the Mission Control Portal or through our API, our customers will be able to:

• Upgrade SIM cards to using a public static IP for $3 per month.
• Delete public IP addresses on SIMs.
• View public IP address costs in their invoice.

Common Public Static IP Use Cases

The main Internet of Things (IoT) use case for this feature involves pinging the SIM to get information—for instance, real-time temperature data.

One vehicle company that transports vaccines uses IoT SIMs to collect temperature data from refrigeration units during transport to make sure that the vaccines are in optimal condition while traveling to their destination.

IoT SIM cards with public IPs will also provide value to managed service providers (MSPs), who can use their SIMs for LTE failover for their PBX system. When a failure is detected, MSPS can immediately failover to LTE, minimizing downtime on their services.

How to Add a Public Static IP Address to Your SIM

Getting started with Telnyx Wireless is easy! Simply purchase a SIM on our Mission Control Portal, and follow our Quickstart guides to start using our data. Once you've registered your SIM, our Mission Control Portal makes it easy to upgrade SIM cards to use a public static IP.

In the Wireless section of the Portal, under "SIM Cards" you'll see a button that says "Set Public IP."

All you have to do is click that button, you'll see a notification for a three dollar monthly recurring charge for the Public IP. Once you click accept, your SIM will have a Public IP!

You’ll find more tutorials and product information in our Developer Center, where you can check out our API reference documentation. If you have any questions along the way, get in touch with our technical experts via our dedicated developer Slack channel!