CommsCloud MD Peter Walsh says Africa’s booming logistics sector needs “borderless IoT” to unlock the full potential of intra-African trade. Multi-core SIM technology could solve persistent connectivity gaps across key freight corridors.
Intra-African trade could double by 2035, but the continent’s logistics ambitions are being held back by outdated and fragmented connectivity along key freight corridors.
Walsh says the challenge lies in ensuring that connected devices travelling thousands of kilometres across Africa can stay reliably online. “From Durban to Lusaka and beyond, Africa’s trade corridors keep economies moving. Yet for years, the critical IoT devices tracking cargo, fleets, and goods and enabling real-time communication have been hampered by network challenges, blackouts at borders, unreliable roaming, and high support requirements,” says Walsh.
Downtime and data gaps
Walsh warns that in the logistics sector, connectivity issues have a direct financial and operational cost. “For African fleets and logistics, downtime isn’t just an inconvenience – it creates supply chain blind spots that can result in lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction, and could also be a business and safety risk. Fragmented data streams also impact AI and analytics, which thrive on uninterrupted data streams,” he says.
IoT’s growing role in African logistics
The continent’s cross-border road freight transport market, currently valued at USD9.81-billion according to Mordor Intelligence, is projected to exceed USD12.02-billion by 2030. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is set to boost trade flows further, intensifying the need for smart, digitally connected logistics infrastructure.
For high-value and fast-growing cargo categories – including retail goods, precious metals, and temperature-sensitive freight – IoT technologies are essential. Real-time tracking, cargo monitoring, and temperature control ensure the safety, integrity, and visibility of goods in transit. However, a persistent challenge has been the lack of SIM solutions capable of supporting high-data IoT applications such as dashcams, push-to-talk radios and video streaming, especially across multiple borders.
Crossing the connectivity divide
In practice, long-haul truckers still face patchy connectivity. Many rely on a limited number of mobile operators per country, switching networks manually when coverage drops. “A truck might use a dual SIM with access to one national network and one global network, but if either of those core networks go down, the vehicle could be offline. For uninterrupted connectivity, they need seamless access to multiple core networks,” explains Walsh.
He adds that to fully realise the potential of intra-African trade, “African logistics corridors need infrastructure that supports borderless, high data IoT.”
A ‘multi-core’ solution
The answer, Walsh believes, lies in integrating mobile networks across trade corridors through multi-IMSI, multi-core SIM technology. “This is achieved by using multi-IMSI, multi-core network SIMs to overcome the challenge of patchy connectivity,” he says.
Traditional SIMs are tied to a single International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and core network, which limits connectivity once a border is crossed or a roaming partner fails. By contrast, multi-IMSI SIMs enable automatic failover between multiple networks, maintaining a live connection even across remote stretches of road between southern and central Africa.
Partnerships driving a borderless network
CommsCloud, in collaboration with global data network provider floLIVE, has been rolling out this integrated approach to deliver “connectivity that doesn’t stop at the border.”
The company has also formed partnerships with major carriers including MTN Bayobab and Telecom Italia Sparkle. These partnerships bring the scale and commercial leverage needed to secure roaming agreements across all African countries, localise data traffic and offer high-volume data plans at competitive rates.
“Africa’s trade has become borderless, and we believe connectivity on these trade routes should be too. Modern logistics demands that a truck leaving Lusaka and arriving in Durban stays online throughout the journey, with no resets or roaming bill shocks, so logistics organisations and customers can enjoy real-time visibility of cargo and assets, have fewer support escalations and focus on their operations,” says Walsh.
Source: CommsCloud