Definition
Shared Bucket (Shared Quota) refers to the data quota unit shared by multiple SIM cards within a pool and is used in conjunction with the Pooled Data pooling data model. Multiple SIM cards consume usage from the same Bucket, are billed based on the total pool, support Quota management, Overage handling, enabling multi-card sharing and cost reduction. In the International IoT Cloud Platform (ICMP), Shared Bucket is one of the core concepts of data pool billing.
Working Principle
Shared Bucket allocates a certain amount of data (e.g., 50GB) as a "bucket" that can be shared by multiple SIM cards, with usage from all SIMs in the pool deducted from this bucket. The platform accumulates usage based on CDR or real-time consumption. When the remaining data in the bucket falls below a threshold, alerts are triggered. After the data is used up, Overage billing or Suspension can be configured. It can be used with Quota to set per-SIM limits on data usage from the bucket, preventing a few devices from consuming too much. Used with Usage Aggregation, it supports usage reports by bucket or by device.
Use Cases
Typical scenarios include: Fleet Management — Hundreds of vehicles share a single Bucket, with individual vehicle usage fluctuating greatly; pooling smooths costs; Industrial IoT — Multiple devices in a factory share a Bucket, allocated by production line or project Quota; Retail Chains — POS and surveillance devices in each store share the pool; Cross-Border Logistics — Cargo tracking devices roam across different countries, and a Shared Bucket simplifies multi-country fee management. Combined with Volume Discount and Tiered Pricing, bulk purchases can enjoy better rates.
Practice in ICMP
SimtoLink ICMP supports the creation of Shared Buckets, device binding, usage monitoring, and billing. Customers can create Buckets in the Global Dashboard, set total volume, Quota policies, Overage rules, and add SIMs. The platform aggregates usage in real time, supporting Usage Aggregation and Usage Analytics, generating reports at both the bucket and device levels. Combined with Unified Invoice, Buckets can be invoiced collectively. In cross-border scenarios, Buckets can roam across multiple countries and be billed according to Rate Card and Roaming Policy.