Choosing a SIM card for a fleet dash cam

For a connected fleet dash cam that uploads event clips and allows live view on demand, UK 4-network 5 GB at £8.85 per active SIM per month is the usual starting plan. A camera that uploads only a few clips a week can fit 1 GB at £2.40. A camera set to stream video continuously will use far more than any UK plan here, so check the upload settings before choosing.

ThingSIM supplies the mobile connection, not the camera or the fleet video platform. Confirm that your dash cam and its platform accept a separately supplied SIM before ordering. The vehicle tracking page covers trackers and telematics in the same vehicles.

How connected dash cams use data

Most connected fleet dash cams record continuously to a memory card in the camera and send only part of that over the mobile network:

• Event clips. A short clip uploaded when the camera detects harsh braking, a collision, a sharp turn or a driver pressing an event button.
• Clips on request. A fleet manager asks for footage from a particular time, and the camera uploads it from the card.
• Live view on demand. Someone opens the platform and watches the camera for a few minutes.
• Status and location. Small, frequent messages saying the camera is online, often with a GPS position.

The status messages are tiny. Video is what uses the allowance, so the number of clips, their length and the live viewing decide the plan.

Continuous streaming does not fit a monthly bundle

Some cameras can stream live all the time the vehicle is moving. At an assumed 2 Mbps, one camera sends about 0.9 GB an hour. Over a 10-hour driving day that is about 9 GB, more than a month of the largest UK plan in a single day. UK plans top out at 5 GB a month.

If your fleet needs continuous live video, a ThingSIM monthly bundle is not the right fit, and it is better to know that before ordering. Recording continuously to the card and uploading events is the arrangement that suits a monthly plan. For anything larger, talk to us about what you need.

A worked estimate for event clips

These figures are assumptions to show the method, not measurements of any camera. Check your camera's clip length, resolution and upload bitrate in its platform and replace them. Use 1,000 MB as 1 GB, and 22 working days a month.

A 20-second clip at an assumed 2 Mbps is 2 × 20 ÷ 8 = 5 MB.

On these assumptions a single road-facing camera with the same live viewing comes to about 1.5 GB, and a two-camera unit about 2.6 GB. Both fit 5 GB with room for a busier month. A van that triggers few events and is rarely viewed live can fit 1 GB. Live view at 2 Mbps is about 15 MB a minute, so it is the variable that moves the total most; an hour of watching is about 0.9 GB.

If a camera is using more than expected, the usual causes are a sensitive event trigger firing on potholes and speed bumps, longer clips than needed, a high upload bitrate, or long live-view sessions. Most fleet platforms let you change those settings centrally. How much data a device needs explains checking an estimate against real use, and how much data a 4G CCTV camera uses covers the same arithmetic for fixed cameras.

Choosing a plan size

Plans come in 50 MB, 250 MB, 1 GB and 5 GB a month, per active SIM with no contract. For dash cams:

• 1 GB for a single camera with few events and little live viewing.
• 5 GB for most fleet cameras, two-camera units, and vehicles whose footage is often requested.

Start on 5 GB, watch the first few weeks in the portal, and move quieter vehicles down once you know their usage. If a SIM reaches its allowance it pauses rather than charging overage, so clips stop uploading until it resumes. Upgrade it straight away, paying only the difference for the rest of the month, or wait for the reset. Most cameras keep recording to the card in the meantime, but check that for your model. Usage webhooks can warn you before a vehicle runs out.

Coverage on the road

Vehicles move between networks all day. UK 4-network roams across O2, Vodafone, Three and EE and uses whichever is strongest where the vehicle is, so a camera is less likely to lose its connection between towns. Uploads that fail in a dead spot are typically retried once the camera reconnects; check how your camera handles that.

UK plans are for vehicles in the UK. For vehicles that cross into the EU, Europe roaming plans are available and priced per project; talk to us about the countries and data you need. Using an IoT SIM in Europe covers what to sort out before vehicles cross a border.

Setting up the cameras

1. Check the SIM size the camera takes. Every physical ThingSIM is a trio card with mini, micro and nano sizes, or order an eSIM if the camera supports one.
2. Activate the SIM in the ThingSIM portal on the day the camera is fitted. SIMs arrive inactive; billing starts on activation, or automatically 30 days after despatch, with at least 5 days' email notice.
3. Enter the APN shown against the SIM. Many dash cams are configured through their fleet platform or an app, and some accept SMS commands. ThingSIM supports SMS, but the camera decides which commands it understands, so use the exact model's instructions.
4. Trigger a test event and open live view once to confirm both reach the platform.
5. Note the vehicle, camera and SIM together, so footage, usage and the SIM all point at the same van.

Most fleet dash cams connect outwards to their platform, so the private IP every ThingSIM gets is normally enough for live view. If your camera needs incoming connections instead, see reaching a 4G camera remotely.

Up to 25 SIMs can be ordered online by card; larger fleets are set up with us. A paused SIM is still billed each month until it is ceased, so pausing a vehicle that is off the road saves nothing; cease the SIM when a vehicle leaves the fleet. Running a small SIM fleet covers keeping records matched as vehicles come and go.

Common questions

What SIM card does a dash cam need?

A data SIM in the size the camera takes, on a plan big enough for its uploads. Every ThingSIM is a trio card with mini, micro and nano sizes, or an eSIM.

How much data does a 4G dash cam use?

It depends on clips and live viewing. In this guide's example, ten 20-second clips a day and 20 minutes of live view a month come to about 1.5 GB for one camera and 2.6 GB for two.

Can a dash cam stream live all the time on a ThingSIM?

Not within a monthly plan. Continuous streaming at an assumed 2 Mbps is about 9 GB in a 10-hour day, and UK plans top out at 5 GB a month. Record to the card and upload events instead.

Does a dash cam SIM work in Europe?

UK plans are for vehicles in the UK. Europe roaming plans are priced per project; talk to us about the countries your vehicles visit.