UVAX unlocks complete device transparency with Onomondo

Since 2008, the UVAX team has been at the forefront of broadband power line communication, helping transform city power grids into high-speed data networks that facilitate the interconnection of smart city applications.

At the heart of UVAX’s smart city infrastructure lies the elegant integration of traditional power line technology with modern cellular connectivity. Each streetlight cabinet, a hub serving anywhere from 100 to 170 streetlights, houses a gateway that acts as the brain of their local smart city operations. These gateways utilize Onomondo SIMs to establish 4G connections to the cloud, creating a bridge between UVAX’s physical infrastructure and digital management systems.

Cities like Valencia and Santander’s nervous systems have undergone an upgrade without major surgery, with the power lines now carrying both electricity and data, while the Onomondo-connected gateways ensure all this local intelligence reaches the cloud. Uvax has essentially effectively repurposed infrastructure that’s been in place for decades with the help of Onomondo.

Breaking Through Network Visibility Barriers

Managing smart city infrastructure is complex enough without adding data blackouts to the mix. The lack of visibility into their network operations created real headaches for UVAX’s team. Month after month, the team would get hit with excessive data charges but had no way to trace which gateways were the culprits.

For UVAX, managing the connectivity part of their operations became a guessing game. They had a fixed data pool shared across their gateways—but zero visibility into individual SIM consumption. When data spiked, gateways would suddenly go dark as SIMs hit their limits, leaving them inoperable. The fact that the team had no idea which gateways were responsible or why was even more frustrating.

Antonio, CEO of UVAX, shared a particularly frustrating scenario where maintenance crews would log in repeatedly throughout the day, tweaking settings just for something to do, which led to unnecessary updates, massive data downloads, and a whole lot of operating cost bloat.

Prior to their collaboration with Onomondo, the UVAX team had no way of identifying or addressing this behavior. Antonio explained that sometimes they would lose connection to 50 gateways simultaneously, and their previous provider would simply say, “The problem is not on our side,” only to have service mysteriously restored hours later without explanation. When you’re managing critical urban infrastructure, this kind of opacity isn’t just inconvenient—it can be operationally crippling.

With Onomondo, the team gained the ability to track data consumption patterns down to individual gateways, identify which operators were running up data usage, and even reset SIM cards independently when issues arose. The Onomondo platform enables this level of transparency by providing dashboards that detail the activities of the customer’s fleet down to the SIM level. The team at UVAX can access the platform both natively and via API. This granular control transformed their operations from reactive to proactive. They could now have data-backed conversations with customers about their usage patterns, optimize their network performance, and resolve issues in minutes instead of days.

This wasn’t just about numbers—it was about understanding customer behavior. They could approach customers with specific insights: “We’ve noticed your team is logging in every hour, which is generating significant data usage. Could we help you streamline these processes?” The outcome is not just cost savings but also a more collaborative relationship with customers. The financial implications were, however, equally significant. UVAX could now definitively track and charge for abnormal excessive data use for cost-control purposes. This level of visibility was crucial for managing the unpredictability of their variable costs.

With the data usage fluctuating, UVAX would have had to routinely reassess their break-even points to protect their margins. But with granular control over consumption, they turned an unpredictable expense into a transparent, manageable part of their operations. Antonio on the monthly data savings since using Onomondo: “We identified a significant amount of unnecessary data usage in our transmissions and successfully reduced the monthly consumption from 57MB to 15MB per SIM—resulting in substantial monthly savings.” which is an improvement of approximately 74%.

For the UVAX, it’s ultimately not just about cost tracking—it’s about building a more resilient business that can adapt to market shifts without risking financial stability.

Global operational flexibility

For UVAX, a company with ambitions that stretch far beyond Spain’s borders, finding a connectivity partner that could keep pace with their global vision was crucial. Their previous international projects in Southeast Asia—specifically in Singapore and Malaysia—exposed the limitations of working with a local Spanish service provider through roaming. Antonio, CEO of UVAX, shared that when working with the Spanish operator initially, they encountered persistent transparency issues. “We never knew what was happening if it didn’t work well,” he explained, highlighting the critical need for a unified, comprehensive connectivity solution.

The partnership with Onomondo represented a strategic expansion enabler. With a presence spanning 180+ countries and 650+ networks, Onomondo offers UVAX something transformative: the ability to maintain consistent connectivity without vendor-switching headaches. The appeal was straightforward yet powerful. Whether deploying smart city solutions in Spain, exploring emerging markets in Southeast Asia, or eyeing potential expansions in South America, UVAX can rely on a single provider. This eliminates the need to navigate complex multiple vendor relationships.

UVAX has integrated Onomondo into their Spanish operations, currently representing about 30% of their network, but has plans for a complete transition by EOY, with exciting potential for South American markets. UVAX’s ability to seamlessly deploy their smart city solutions across various geographies, without altering their core connectivity infrastructure, offers unprecedented operational flexibility.

“We don’t want to switch to another vendor or service provider if we go to another country or continent,” Antonio noted, encapsulating the strategic value of Onomondo’s global network coverage of 680+ networks in 180+ countries. By providing access to multiple networks through a single SIM, without requiring additional administrative steps, Onomondo has transformed what was once a logistical challenge into a streamlined, manageable process.

As UVAX continues to push the boundaries of smart city technology, Onomondo stands as a critical enabler, turning geographical diversity from a potential limitation into a strategic advantage.

Wrapping up

UVAX’s partnership with Onomondo shows what’s possible when you solve the visibility challenge in IoT operations. By transforming their connectivity blind spots into actionable insights, they’ve achieved what many innovators dream of—reducing data consumption by 74%, gaining granular control over their network, and opening doors to global expansion across 180+ countries. For UVAX, this isn’t just about better metrics—it’s about building smarter cities with the confidence that comes from complete operational clarity.

Prefer to read this case story in Spanish? Find the Spanish version here.