A Very Connected Christmas: How Could Santa Modernise His Workshop?

December 2024

Telecoms & Connectivity

Molly Gatford

Senior Research Analyst

With Christmas fast approaching, we tapped into our in-house expertise on connectivity and industrial technologies to reimagine how Santa Claus could modernise his operations.

Santa’s approach to adopting connectivity solutions would mirror how businesses embrace new technologies today. With the rollout of 5G, he’d gain access to enhanced capabilities like broader geographical coverage, ultra-low latency, and precise positioning - all crucial tools to streamline his festive operations as Christmas draws near.

Industrial IoT: Optimised Toy Making 

Enhanced connectivity using 5G is revolutionising IoT applications in modern manufacturing. The North Pole could leverage 5G connectivity solutions to optimise the production of toys, owing to the ultra-fast and reliable connectivity on offer due to its low latency and high bandwidth. This enables real-time data analysis, providing greater visibility when tracking the location of gifts, and enabling precision monitoring of present-wrapping machines, and other machinery, including their production quality, temperatures via environmental heat sensors, and estimated lifespans.

Monitoring of 5G Connected Machines

Source: Juniper Research

Despite the costs of 5G networks, the accuracy and data quality provided by location tracking of gifts via 5G surpasses the indoor positioning capabilities of solutions such as GPS, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. Juniper Research recommends the use of specific technologies, including:

• Multiple-input Multiple-output (MIMO) antennae for precise beamforming and control of directional signalling to track the vast operations
• Wideband technologies to provide high data rates through high frequency spectrum
• Edge computing to reduce stress on the network through the aggregation and processing of data closer to the edge of networks

Travel SIM & eSIM: Keeping Santa Connected

When Santa Claus travels the world delivering presents, it is essential that his mobile phone stays connected so that he can chat with Mrs Claus and the elves. Modern mobile devices can stay connected while travelling in several different ways, including roaming, travel SIMs, and travel eSIMs.

As mentioned, roaming is one way for Santa Claus to stay connected while travelling across the globe in his sleigh. Whilst this solution is convenient, with no action required and Santa being billed after use, this could be pretty costly, with some mobile operators worldwide charging high fees to roam on their networks. Juniper Research’s latest retail roaming research provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of high roaming charges and how different technologies are disrupting this market.

An alternative technology that Santa Claus may therefore use is a travel SIM. As he travels to multiple countries, he would use a travel SIM which provides coverage in all those he travels to. However, as Santa is very busy during the lead-up to Christmas it might be inconvenient to use a travel SIM, as this requires swapping physical SIM cards.

Assuming that Santa has an eSIM-compatible smartphone, it would be possible for him to use a travel eSIM as another way to stay connected. Travel eSIMs are gaining popularity amongst consumers globally, as they provide a cost-effective alternative to roaming whilst abroad. Moreover, our research has found that travel eSIMs are more convenient than travel SIMs due to remote provisioning, where the physical SIM does not need to be swapped. This will be more convenient for Santa to install, ensuring he does not lose or damage his physical SIM.

Different travel eSIM packages exist, with travellers able to purchase travel eSIMs for single countries or a global eSIM that can cover more than 180 countries worldwide. Santa would need to purchase a global eSIM so that he only had to worry about installing the eSIM once, and it would automatically connect to networks in all the available countries.

In our latest travel eSIM research, we compared the average cost of data when roaming and when using a travel eSIM in 2024. The average amount Santa Claus would spend on 1GB when roaming globally would be $8.44, whereas when using a travel eSIM, this would be $5.53.

Average Cost Globally per 1GB Data When Roaming vs Using a Travel eSIM in 2024 ($)

Source: Juniper Research

Juniper Research recommends that Santa Claus use a travel eSIM to stay connected while travelling on his sleigh. Like for many global travellers, travel eSIMs would offer Santa Claus a much more cost-effective solution to roaming. Juniper Research predicts that the increasing number of mobile operators signing aggregator agreements with eSIM vendors, and increasing distribution channels, is increasing the availability of travel eSIM packages. This means the ecosystem is now in place to support Santa Claus with connectivity worldwide.

Connected Vehicles: Real-time Sleigh Monitoring

To ensure that Santa is making good progress with delivering presents, it is essential that the elves can keep track of the location of Santa’s sleigh. Here, Santa’s sleigh must be connected to allow for the optimisation of his travel route, and the collection of data from sensors on the sleigh in real-time, to detect and respond to potential hazards.

Juniper Research recommends that Santa Claus should use multi-radio access technology (RAT) for his connected sleigh, providing more reliable connectivity, enhanced coverage, and optimisation of network resource allocation. Santa Claus will leverage satellite connectivity to ensure he stays connected in remote locations where terrestrial networks lack coverage. However, when available, Santa Claus will connect to terrestrial networks to benefit from their high speeds and lower latency, compared to satellite networks. The sleigh will wait to upload data that is not immediately required, until Wi-Fi is available, to reduce the cost of uploading vast amounts of data.

Connected Vehicles Like Santa’s Sleigh Leverage Multi-RAT

Source: Juniper Research

Molly is a Research Analyst at Juniper Research, providing insight, data, and recommendations for established and future markets within the telecommunications sector. Her recent reports include RCS Business Messaging, AdTech, Telecommunications APIs, and Travel SIMs & eSIMs.