The platform, designed to support a vast IOT ecosystem, with application and management layers, is built on top of MTN's existing MPLS networks across Africa. The platform was launched alongside a new global Machine to Machine (M2M) SIM for Africa.
Jeremy Potgieter, MTN Group Manager for M2M and IOT, says that a key benefit of the new platform, the flat rate on data charges, is already operational. "This means that customers expanding their businesses and M2M services out of South Africa into neighbouring territories can already do so with more predictable costs," he says.
The full platform, with application and management layers, is now available in South Africa, with Nigeria next on the list to be onboarded, says Potgieter. "We will focus on our top six African markets first, so the SADC region will be addressed as a matter of urgency, and Uganda, Ghana and Ivory Coast are scheduled to be onboarded this year. All our other markets are scheduled to be added to the full ecosystem over the course of the next year."
MTN's new initiative has been met with keen interest across Africa, says Potgieter. "We are seeing particular interest from potential partners at the application layer, and we have had discussions with delegates from countries like Rwanda, Benin, Zambia and Nigeria from verticals across the board. We see particular interest from businesses aiming to address public safety and security, health, smart utilities and water management challenges," he notes.
The application layer is a natural first step in adoption, he explains. After applications have been launched, businesses look to the management layer next.
African innovators look set to seize the opportunity to build on the tools and expertise MTN is making available, to develop solutions to problems unique to the continent. These tools include the IOT platform's management and application layers, as well as the IOT Software Developers' Kit, which is currently in use by participants in the Mind2Machine challenge. Potgieter says the kit will be made commercially available to developers, with release envisaged for Q4 this year.
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