MTN Business has launched an open Internet of Things (IoT) platform, looking to connect and manage machines across its African footprint.<\/p>\n
The platform provides a dedicated network to connect devices and systems, removing “significant cost and accessibility barriers, ultimately enabling development on a broader scale,” MTN said.<\/p>\n
The new IoT platform is live in South Africa, with other MTN operating countries set to follow over the next 12 months.<\/p>\n
The number of global IoT connections is expected to reach 360 million by 2018, MTN said, with the South African wholesale Machine-2-Machine (M2M) market \u2013 one aspect of IoT \u2013 already worth an estimated R350 million and expected to grow to R1.2 billion by 2017.<\/p>\n
“This means there are significant business opportunities for aspiring developers in South Africa and the rest of the continent,\u201d said MTN Group chief enterprise officer, Mteto Nyati.<\/p>\n
The open platform will enable networked devices to exchange information and perform actions, responding intelligently to their environments without human intervention, MTN said.<\/p>\n
The launch also sees the introduction of a global M2M SIM card, which will give MTN customers the same rate for M2M activity across Africa.<\/p>\n
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