Ask HN: what is the cheapest way to collect instrument logged data remotely?

2 pointsFraaJad2 comments

I need to collect data from instruments periodically (once every 15 minutes) remotely. Is there a Wireless plan that is suitable for this kind of low/data-only traffic?

I live in in the US.

View on HN

I'm from Brazil. A friend worked on a company that tracked trucks (to know if they are on route, where they are if stolen, etc).

They simple used a cellphone with GPS, requesting via HTTP the company's server, with its position/id.

They probably had some kind of agreement with telcos to pay a little cheaper rates, but honestly a few kb per day is cheap enough, and the tech is not complicated.

I don't know your scaling plans, but I think you can do your instruments talk to some server using standard cellphones.

There are unadvertised SMS-only plans; I don't know how you buy them, though.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com