Anywheel Pte Ltd & Singtel

With 30,000 bicycles islandwide connected by Singtel Machine-to-Machine (M2M) SIMs, Anywheel is at the forefront of first- and last-mile sustainable transportation.

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Anywheel Pte Ltd & Singtel

Executive Summary

Company Name:
Anywheel Pte Ltd

Industry:
Transport

Business Challenges
  • Loss of connectivity resulting in poor experience for users
  • Below optimal bicycle utilisation rate due to lack of real-time visibility in usage
  • Laborious provisioning, decommissioning and lifecycle management of SIMs in large-scale M2M implementation across Singapore
Business Benfits
  • Comprehensive local mobile coverage for consistent M2M connectivity
  • Significant improvement in stability and reliability of locks after adopting IoT, resulting in increased ridership
  • Enhanced visibility in the diagnostics and inventory management of SIM cards with a one-stop web portal
  • Feedback and insights into usage trends allow for more data-driven decision-making

31 Oct 2023 | SME, IoT, Digitalisation | 5 min read

Watch how Singtel IoT empowers Anywheel

Building a greener future one revolution at a time

Beaming in bright green, Anywheel’s fleet of bicycles is easily recognisable and has become an integral part of Singapore’s transport system, providing users with a greener and healthier transport alternative for their first- and last-mile journeys.

Over 3 million trips were recorded in 2021

With a mission to create a sustainable world for future generations and alleviate urban congestion, founder and CEO Htay Aung set up Anywheel on World Car-Free Day in 2017 to complement Singapore’s existing transport system.

“Now that I have two daughters, I worry that the future generation will have to live with a harsher and more unpredictable world,” explained Htay Aung.

Challenges at scale

Operating 30,000 bikes islandwide, Anywheel’s phenomenal growth came with its challenges. One of them was keeping track of the bicycles’ location, condition, and status in real time.

Without real-time insights, ensuring their bicycles were strategically placed was challenging. A lack of visibility of real-time location made tracking stolen or damaged bicycles difficult too.

“People were unable to find our bicycles near them,” reported Htay Aung.

Poor connectivity, especially underground or in network dead spots, meant users could not reliably unlock the bicycles via the app — a fundamental function of the platform.

With thousands of trips recorded daily, stable, and resilient connectivity between the bicycles, the mobile app and management portal is critical, which is why Anywheel partnered with Singtel.

Secure and reliable connectivity 24/7

Leveraging Singtel’s robust network meant strong local mobile coverage across all locations. The private, reliable, and secure connectivity allows for frictionless communication between the bicycles, mobile app and management portal. Embedded into every lock are Singtel M2M SIMs that use the CAT-M1 network, which allows for low data usage and power consumption.

Unlike traditional mobile SIMs, Singtel M2M SIMs have unique IP addresses, which make tracking the bicycle and SIM remotely possible.

Htay Aung adds, “Ever since adopting IoT technology in our 4th generation locks, the stability and reliability of our unlocking experience have improved significantly, and this has led to higher ridership.”

Manage with ease

With Anywheel’s scale, accurate provisioning and lifecycle management deployed on a large scale islandwide can be tedious and laborious. Singtel SIM Management Platform, a one-stop dashboard, provides network connectivity status and allows monitoring, control, and activation through an easy-to-use web portal. Anywheel was able to unlock new insights into how their bicycles were used and where demand is highest in real-time, as well as how to improve the reliability of their locks.

Experience matters

Singtel M2M works well with a myriad of enterprise cloud solutions through Singtel Meg@POP connectivity to the cloud for an added layer of security.

Singtel Meg@POP leverages Singtel’s award-winning network infrastructure to help SMBs build a secure and resilient hybrid network with software-defined capabilities to support IoT projects.

 

Going beyond the product, the Singtel M2M team's experience and professionalism have helped Anywheel to achieve a faster rollout and fuss-free deployment exercise.

“From when we reached out to Singtel, the replies were smooth and very clear. And after we onboarded the Singtel M2M SIM cards into our system, the service was even more amazing because there is a very mature and established backend to monitor and manage each SIM card in our devices. Even during COVID, Singtel helped us with the timeline and shipment of the SIM cards to our factory. I would definitely recommend Singtel to any business that is looking to have M2M SIM cards in their IoT devices.”

Htay Aung, founder and CEO, Anywheel

Enable Asia Pacific-wide connectivity for your IoT devices

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