The Caps & Alerts functionality for managing SIM data usage is extremely valuable for controlling costs related to overage. However, if it is misconfigured, it can generate excessive emails or prevent SIMs from working when they should not be disabled. To avoid these undesirable outcomes, follow the guidelines below when using Caps & Alerts.
Alert near high usage
One of the primary reasons for using alerts is to be notified when a SIM is using an abnormally large amount of data, so that the cause of the usage can be investigated.
We recommend setting an alert at around 80–90% of the maximum tolerated usage. This ensures you are notified when SIMs are approaching that level, giving you time to investigate.
We also recommend setting a second alert at around 110% of the maximum. This helps you identify when a SIM has entered overage and may continue to consume additional data.
Start with fewer SIMs
While you are determining which thresholds are most useful, we recommend creating rules for a smaller number of SIMs initially.
These could be:
- SIMs that have historically consumed more data than expected, or
- A representative sample of your wider SIM estate
This approach allows you to refine thresholds before applying them more broadly.
Use caps sparingly
The cap facility will stop a SIM from all communications - data, voice, and SMS - until the end of the billing period, unless it is manually removed.
For this reason, only SIMs where being offline is an acceptable state should have a cap rule applied.
Set alert recipients
Once you have created your rules, go to the Settings page and configure the list of email recipients.
This ensures that the right people are informed when data usage occurs and can take the necessary steps to resolve the situation.
Review and adjust
After the first billing cycle is completed, review the notifications you received and evaluate whether they led to useful investigations or changes that might otherwise have been missed.
If you were notified too frequently, you may want to adjust thresholds to be less conservative. Conversely, if some usage was not flagged, consider creating additional rules for future billing cycles.
Get in touch
We welcome feedback from customers using the systems we create and maintain, as it helps us improve them over time. If you have any suggestions for how this feature could be improved, please contact your Wireless Logic representative and let them know.