BICS, a leading international communications enabler, and Flickswitch, an African mobile network service provider, have announced a partnership to accelerate the deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) in Africa. As a result of the collaboration, enterprises will benefit from extensive, seamless and affordable connectivity for their IoT projects in the region, and across international borders using multi-network SIM cards, over BICS’ fully-owned and leading IPX network.
BICS’ SIM for Things global IoT solution was selected following extensive technical testing and is providing Flickswitch’s customers with a flexible business model, allowing them to scale and benefit from seamless access to mobile networks anywhere in the world. The partnership will initially target Flickswitch’s 400+ African-based enterprise customers – primarily in the M2M/IoT, security, logistics, fintech and retail sectors – which have international data roaming needs.
Kees Snijders, managing director of Flickswitch said, “For over ten years we have been helping companies to better manage their device connectivity. With ubiquitous IoT connectivity becoming increasingly important to our growing enterprise customer base, partnering with BICS was a natural next step. BICS’ multi-network coverage made them the obvious choice, and will allow our customers to quickly and easily access constant, consistent connectivity.”
“As the network at the heart of international connectivity, enabling the global mobility of businesses, people, applications and things is our daily mission,” said Mikaël Schachne, CMO and VP Mobility & IoT Business, BICS. “Our partnership with Flickswitch will make IoT deployments in Africa easy to launch and simple to manage. The collaboration also strengthens BICS’ SIM for Things footprint in Africa, and comes as the next phase in our long-lasting presence and commitment to the African market as the leading provider of international connectivity.”
BICS connects all mobile networks in Africa and over 700 mobile operators across more than 200 countries. With the number of IoT connections expected to reach 1.1 billion by 2025, according to the GSMA, the collaboration will play an important role in supporting the advancement of the IoT throughout the African continent.
