• MTN has announced a new partnership with the UK’s Eseye to bring the company’s IoT services and expertise to the telco’s customers in Africa.
• With the deal MTN says it will launch a new IoT platform – IoT Connectivity Management Platform.
• This is all in a bid to bring more IoT services and products to the telco’s markets across Africa.

In a bid to introduce new, better internet of things (IoT) products and services in South Africa, MTN has announced a new partnership with England’s Eseye.

IoT represents multiple devices being connected over a single network, where they can communicate with each other dynamically. In the consumer space this can be seen with a Smart Home system, for example, where an alarm clock may communicate with coffee maker to switch on, and for smart blinds to open in the morning,

MTN says the new deal will see Eseye’s technology deployed in South Africa by the telco. Prior to its deal with MTN, Eseye had signed deals with the likes of Amazon, Shell, Bosch and Sony among others. The company offers IoT expertise, devices, connectivity and consulting.

“This involves integration with MTN’s current infrastructure, utilising Eseye’s deep engineering expertise and experience in deploying rapid IoT solutions to meet MTN’s global needs, and supporting customers with IoT deployments pan-Africa,” MTN explains in a press release sent to Hypertext. 

Big Yellow says that Eseye will help it improve its capabilities in the space in a “number of ways.” Including giving MTN the capability to launch a more comprehensive range of IoT services to customers.

“MTN has an ambition to grow IoT offerings not only in South Africa, but across it’s continental footprint,” adds Lawrence Juku, head of IoT solutions at MTN Business.

One new product on the way from MTN is a cloud-based platform that provides a single point of management for devices, including remote provisioning, device management, and analytics. Additionally, the platform will offer a range of cybersecurity features “which will help to protect MTN South Africa’s IoT devices from cyberattacks.”

“Our partnership with Eseye is a major milestone in our journey to become Africa’s leading digital platform. Eseye’s expertise and solutions will help us to accelerate the deployment of IoT across Africa and meet the needs of our customers. Our new IoT Connectivity Management Platform, powered by Eseye, will enable us to meet our aggressive IoT connectivity goals, and deliver differentiated services across different IoT verticals,” Juku said.

“We are proud to be awarded this multi-year agreement with MTN, which is a significant contract for Eseye and demonstrates the calibre of not only our technology, but also our IoT expertise,” Nick Earle, CEO of Eseye, said.