Private APN for Mobile and IoT Devices
A private APN puts your business SIMs on your own network rather than the public internet, in the UK and when roaming.
Request a quoteMobile data that behaves like part of your network
A standard business SIM sends its data out onto the public internet, and anything you want to protect has to be layered on afterwards with VPN clients and firewall rules on each device. A private Access Point Name changes where that data lands. Traffic from your SIMs is carried across the mobile network and delivered straight into your own infrastructure, so a handset or a remote sensor sits on the corporate network in the same way a desk in head office does.
Because the SIMs sit inside your own network rather than outside it, your normal controls apply without duplication: the same addressing, the same authentication, the same monitoring. Setup is quick, with a private APN configured and carrying live traffic within two to three working days. Several configurations are available, so the design can be shaped around how much of the estate needs isolating and what those devices actually need to reach.
How a private APN is put together
Closed to the public internet
The APN can be configured with no route to the public internet at all, so devices only reach your network and the systems you have approved. Cloudflare DDoS protection sits in front of the service.
Controlled internet breakout
Where devices do need internet access, internet access can be handed off from one central point rather than on each SIM. That gives you one set of filtering and acceptable-use policies applied consistently across the estate.
Stays private when roaming
Devices remain on your private network wherever they are, in the UK and overseas. Vehicles, field kit and travelling staff keep the same addressing and access rules without anyone starting a VPN.
Who we work with
We are independent of any single network or vendor, so the recommendation follows the requirement.
Mobile networks
We are not tied to one network, so the tariff follows the coverage your teams actually need.
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What you get
- SIMs that join your network directly instead of reaching it from the public internet
- Configured and in service within two to three working days
- More than one APN configuration available, so different device estates can be kept apart
- Optional internet breakout so one internet policy covers every SIM
- The option to close off public internet access entirely
- Cloudflare DDoS protection on the service
- Private connectivity retained in the UK and while roaming abroad
- Suited to tracking devices, traffic management equipment, cash terminals and CCTV
- Available alongside business mobiles and IoT SIMs on EE, O2 and Vodafone
Private APN for Mobile and IoT Devices — Common Questions
What is a private APN?
An Access Point Name is the gateway a SIM uses to get onto a data network. A private APN routes that traffic into your own network instead of out to the public internet, so the SIM becomes another device on your corporate network with your usual addressing and access controls.
How quickly can it be set up?
A private APN can be configured and carrying live traffic within two to three working days, which is considerably faster than most people expect for something that changes where an entire mobile estate lands. What takes the time is deciding the design rather than building it: which devices need isolating, what they have to reach, and how the addressing fits what you already run.
Can devices still reach the internet?
That is a design choice. The APN can be locked down with no public internet access at all, which suits tracking devices, traffic management kit, cash terminals and CCTV, or internet access can be handed off from one central point so one filtering and usage policy applies across every SIM.
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Talk through a private APN for your estate
Tell us what the SIMs need to reach and how many devices are involved, and we will map out a configuration that fits. You deal with a named local director who knows your setup, not a call queue.