Global SIMs, local limits: how Marine Insights overcame Turkey's roaming restrictions

You got global SIMs so your devices could stay connected anywhere. 

Until your devices suddenly go offline in a country that's supposedly covered. Your customers are calling, your service isn't working, and you're left troubleshooting a problem you didn't even know existed.

Welcome to the world of permanent roaming restrictions.

For Marine Insights, keeping vessel monitoring systems connected in Turkey meant dealing with more than just permanent roaming restrictions. Local hardware registration requirements added another layer of complexity, making a simple SIM swap far from the solution.

Here's how Marine Insights worked with 1oT to get reliable connectivity in place, without the usual roaming headaches.

Keeping vessels connected, wherever they go

Running a commercial vessel or superyacht is no small task. With countless systems operating onboard, keeping track of everything can be a challenge, especially when the vessel is halfway across the world.

That's where Marine Insights comes in.

Founded in 2021 by a team with expertise in marine engineering, telecommunications, and cloud technology, Marine Insights helps vessel owners and management companies stay on top of their operations remotely.

Its cloud-based monitoring platform provides near-real-time visibility into fuel consumption, system performance, and alerts, while historical data helps identify trends and spot potential problems early.

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The setup is designed to be straightforward. Marine Insights configures the hardware, ships it to the vessel, and guides the onboard engineer through a remote installation. From there, customers access everything through an online portal.

No onsite visits. No complicated setup. 

As David Cross, Director at Marine Insights, puts it:

"It's really hands off, you know, from our point of view, we have very few problems, everything usually works."

That is, of course, until Turkey entered the picture.

The problem: a global SIM that isn’t quite so global

Like many IoT businesses operating internationally, Marine Insights relied on SIM cards marketed as global connectivity solutions. The idea was simple: install the SIM, connect the device, and keep it online as the vessel moves between countries.

Except global doesn't always mean everywhere.

Some countries have their own rules about how long foreign SIMs can operate on their networks. And Turkey is one of the trickier ones, with restrictions covering both permanent roaming and cellular hardware registration.

Marine Insights found this out the hard way.

Its SIM provider had promised global connectivity. And for a while, everything worked as expected. Until, after a few months in Turkey, the devices suddenly went offline.

As David Cross explains:

"What we soon discovered was in Turkey, the SIMs work for 90 days or 120 days. It's not always guaranteed how long you get permanent roaming."

The problem caught Marine Insights by surprise.

"The first we learned about this was our customer saying, 'Hey, the device is offline, we can't access the portal, what's happening?' So mad panic."

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And there’s more: in Turkey, the problem doesn't necessarily stop at the SIM.

Local regulations can also lead to IMEI blocking, leaving the cellular modem unable to connect to Turkish networks. So swapping the SIM won’t really work if the hardware itself is blocked.

And Turkey isn't the only market where global connectivity comes with local complications. Permanent roaming restrictions look different from market to market, and what works perfectly well in one country might get your devices disconnected in another.

If you're taking your IoT deployment international, it's worth doing your homework before your devices do the disappearing act. Our guide to permanent roaming restrictions breaks down where the rules apply and what you need to watch out for.

Solving the problem meant looking beyond the SIM

Fortunately, Marine Insights had designed its monitoring solution with alternative communication options. By using another connectivity channel available onboard, the team was able to restore remote access quickly.

But relying on backup connections whenever a vessel entered Turkish waters wasn't the long-term answer.

The company needed something that would work reliably, without emergency troubleshooting or unexpected interruptions.

As David explains:

"Clients are paying for a service that they expect to be available. So it's a really critical part of the solution for us. It needs to be reliable."

Marine Insights started exploring how to establish reliable connectivity for its deployments in Turkey, and it quickly became clear that there were two essential pieces to get right: a SIM suitable for long-term operation in Turkey and cellular hardware that complied with local registration requirements.

"We needed to find a SIM partner who could provide us with local Turkish SIMs and also guide us about how to source the right devices locally in order that we can overcome this problem," David says.

And that distinction mattered. Having the right connectivity service is only half the equation when the cellular hardware itself is subject to local restrictions. This is where 1oT came in. With local Turkish SIMs and guidance on sourcing properly registered Teltonika hardware, we helped Marine Insights put together a setup designed for reliable, long-term connectivity in Turkey.

As David puts it:

"That local knowledge and knowing how all that fits together, that was a journey of learning for us. And 1oT and Teltonika were able to hold our hands to understand how to get that solution in place."

For Marine Insights, the value wasn't simply receiving another batch of SIM cards. It was having a partner who understood how the different requirements fit together and could help turn a complicated situation into a working deployment.

The result: rock-solid connectivity, without surprises

Since the new setup went live in March 2026, connectivity has been running smoothly for Marine Insights.

As David puts it:

"And since we've had that deployed in March, we've had absolutely no problems. The connectivity has been rock solid."

No more worrying about how long the SIMs will keep working in Turkey. No more scrambling to restore connectivity or figuring out whether the problem is with the SIM, the network, or the hardware.

Just a reliable connection that does its job, day after day.

For its customers, that means dependable access to the vessel monitoring systems they're paying for. And for Marine Insights, it means more time to focus on what actually drives the business forward.

Connectivity is no longer something the team has to think about. It just works.

A connectivity partner, not just a SIM supplier

Getting devices connected is one thing. Keeping them connected in markets with tricky local requirements? That's where the real work begins.

And that's why having the right connectivity partner makes all the difference.

At 1oT, we look beyond the SIM card to understand how your devices operate, where they're being deployed, and what local requirements might get in the way.

And connectivity doesn't stop at the SIM itself. Through 1oT Terminal, Marine Insights gets a clearer view of its SIM fleet, with tools for monitoring connectivity activity, checking data usage, and accessing SIM information when needed.

It’s about much more than just  keeping devices connected. It's also about knowing what's happening with that connectivity and having the tools to manage it.

For Marine Insights, that meant more than providing local Turkish SIMs. We helped the team understand Turkey's connectivity and hardware requirements, worked alongside Teltonika to identify suitable locally registered devices, and made sure the solution could be configured and tested in the UK before deployment.

The result? A setup that works with Marine Insights' existing operations, rather than forcing the company to work around its connectivity.

And that's the kind of partnership we aim to bring to every deployment: the right connectivity, the right local knowledge, and a solution that actually works in the real world.

Need reliable IoT connectivity in Turkey?

Whether you're planning a deployment or dealing with SIMs that have stopped working, we can help you navigate Turkey's permanent roaming restrictions, find the right local connectivity, and get your devices connected without the guesswork. Let's talk!