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IOT innovation set to overcome Africa's infrastructure challenges

Africa's transport and logistics firms don't have to wait for massive infrastructure upgrades to start benefiting from the global $2 trillion Internet of Things (IOT) revenue opportunity.

By Tracy Burrows for MTN Business
Johannesburg, 12 Jun 2017
Nyiko Nkuna, Manager: Enterprise IoT and WASP Solutions, MTN Business.
Nyiko Nkuna, Manager: Enterprise IoT and WASP Solutions, MTN Business.

The second IOT Conference and Awards, presented by MTN Business, together with Intel, Huawei, Cisco Jasper and The Innovation Hub, in Sandton in June, examined IOT trends, challenges and potential for Africa.

Panellists discussing Fleet Management and Telematics; Logistics and Supply Chain; Intelligent Transportation Systems said IOT was already addressing industry challenges such as safety, asset management and environmental concerns.

Mahendra Beharie: Head of Business IT, Sub Saharan Africa at DHL, noted that DHL had been harnessing smart and IOT devices for the past 15 years. "We started the journey to transform over a decade ago. It required buy-in from both top management and customers, however. Among our early projects in this space was placing temperature sensors in specimen boxes for pharmaceutical industry clients - to succeed, we had to ensure that there were benefits for the customer."

The potential benefits were clear from an early stage, but connectivity issues across Africa presented challenges to IOT deployments that were not experienced in Europe and the U.S. "IOT is about streamlining and improving business, and it depends on real-time data," said Beharie. "In Africa, IOT success can be impacted by mobile network coverage and other external factors. So across the continent, we have had to adapt and say 'how can we innovate within these constraints?'"

Nyiko Nkuna, Manager Enterprise IOT Solutions at MTN Business, noted that many IOT applications did not require high-powered GSM networks. Low-powered Wide Area Networks could be harnessed by sectors such as transport to overcome infrastructure constraints across the continent.

MTN expects Narrowband-IOT (NB-IOT) to revolutionise connectivity across the continent, thanks to its capacity of up to 100 000 connected devices per single cell, long battery life and low cost. MTN is deploying NB-IOT technology throughout its national GSM network in South Africa by the end of the year.

Innovations such as NB-IOT are not introduced in isolation, he said. "MTN started as a connectivity business first, but quickly realised there was a bigger role for us to play in delivering end-to-end IOT services and solutions. We see local partnerships as crucial for developing an innovative and globally competitive IOT ecosystem."

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