MTN Business / Enterprise Africa

MTN BUSINESS

MTN BUSINESS MTN Business Pairs With Quro for

Life-Changing Connectivity PRODUCTION: Tim Hands

Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging markets operator, driven by the belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. MTN Business’s heavy investment in telemetry and network infrastructure is now opening up Internet of Things (IoT) applications to many customers, and its peerless network is allowing SA start-up Quro Medical to bring life-changing remote patient monitoring to homes and institutions across the country.

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The IoT has quickly become one of the most important technologies of everyday life, a relevance which will continue to gather pace as the potential of connected devices in helping people live and work smarter and gain complete control over their lives is fully realised.

It describes a system of interrelated computing devices, machines, objects, or people provided with unique identifiers (UIDs), able to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-tocomputer interaction.

“The power of technology becomes so much more important when it can save lives,” MTN recognises, and the IoT is already seeing major impacts in medical and healthcare applications. “With the ability to collect, analyse and transmit health data, Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) tools are rapidly changing healthcare delivery,” says HealthTech magazine.

“For patients and clinicians, these applications are playing a central part in tracking and preventing chronic illnesses — and they’re poised to evolve the future of care.” Innovative internetconnected devices improve efficiencies, lower care costs and empower better outcomes in healthcare, thanks to major advances in wireless technology, miniaturisation and computing power.

HEALTHCARE INNOVATIONS “The IoMT is rapidly transforming medtech’s role and relationships within health care,” confirms Deloitte’s ‘Medtech and the Internet of Medical Things’ report. “Connected medical devices will have a profound impact on patients, clinicians and the life sciences industry.”

Founded in 2018, health tech start-up Quro Medical has seized upon the opportunity and need to take technology into critical medical and healthcare settings, crafting a platform capable of collecting patients’ vital

signs, and employing to a smartphone to enable their remote monitoring.

The resulting data is then sent for processing and assessed by Quro Medical’s team of qualified health professionals, monitored on a minuteby-minute basis, 24/7.

This is the value of the IoT for Quro Medical: the ability to make an impact for many people in many locations at once, from a single location. “We combine state-of-the-art technology, clinical oversight and excellent clinical care to manage acutely ill patients in the comfort of their homes,” outlines Quro Medical CEO, Dr Vuyane Mhlomi. “This provides physicians and their patients with a safe and affordable alternative to hospital general ward or step-down facility admission.”

The Deloitte report recognises how transformative the application of such technology can be, even shaping Continues on page 6

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CONNECTIVITY: THE FUTURE OF INDUSTRIES, TODAY. By: Nicolas Blixell, Vice President of Ericsson Middle East & Africa Industries today are under constant pressure to improve product quality, boost factory efficiency, stay competitive, enhance safety, security, and sustainability, all the while remaining profitable. And by evolving certain technologies, we evolve the network platform which will fundamentally change the way we innovate.

Let’s take a look at the port and mining industries, two of the most crucial industries in the world: ports are fundamental to the global economy as they transfer up to 90 percent of the world's goods, while the mining industry produces $1.5 trillion worth of rare earth elements annually, accounting for 2% of global gross domestic product (GDP) on its own, as per the 2020 World Mining Data report.

However, due to the slow modernization and the large-

scale nature of these industries, certain efficiency challenges emerge. Issues like vessel and truck congestion at ports can slow down businesses, result in high handling costs of containers and lead to an increase in the price of goods.

These hold-ups can have a knock-on effect on economic development which is why it is vital that we use smart technological solutions to address these challenges.

Cellular networks bring unprecedented optimization value to port and mining sites, delivering a new level of process and operational efficiency that reduces costs, lowers environmental impact, and boosts economic value. The port of Livorno, for instance, which Ericsson has supported in enabling IoT, has reported that optimizing vessel berthing led to a 20% average cost reduction per year which was

THE POTENTIAL OF AUTOMATED OPERATIONS CAN REVOLUTIONIZE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES CAPABILITIES

Atul Kayal, Chief Technical & Information Officer, MTN Benin

Sunaina Davet, Head of Managed Services Africa, Ericsson West and South East Africa

Sectors and industries across a wide spectrum are navigating the advances in technology and strategizing how best to leverage transformative tools such as automation to improve their businesses and ultimately their customers’ experience.

Digitalization is undoubtedly a significant force of change. New technologies, such as artificial intelligence, 5G, and IoT bring a transformative impact across most businesses and industries.

Digitalization plays a dual role as it redefines ways of working and core offerings and at the same time accelerates demand for what the industry produces. At the heart of much this technological evolution is data.

In our work with CSPs we are utilizing data to enhance operations.

Key to leveraging operational transformation are healthy and productive partnerships like Ericsson and MTN where we are working closely to leverage automation, to improve operational efficiency and reduce time to market for new services for Communication Service Providers (CSPs).

As CSPs introduce virtualized and software-defined infrastructure and prepare to expand their business in the digital economy, automation is essential to re-scale and re-purpose operations.

CSP partners like MTN Benin are beginning their journeys to a closedloop, “highly automated, low-touch” operations and orchestration system based on real-time data analytics.

Operations for CSPs in the past have focused on networks, the IT environment and KPIs – all measured utilizing different tools. However, with the goal ultimately focused on constantly improving customer experience, operations have to bring together those various tools to enhance what the customer experiences.

How can CSPs like MTN Benin be enabled with intelligent data driven approach to operations? Shifting towards an intelligent automated network operations centre is essentially about focusing on bringing together the various data elements, developing an appropriate infrastructure with applied automation rules and injecting them with smart tools developed to bring in advance actions, tasks or steps to either

equal to roughly 2.5 million Euros. Our work at Ericsson with Rotterdam World Gateway in implementing a private LTE network also saw an enhancement in performance, reliability, and data security of the terminal. In addition to securing all year-round operations, the private LTE network further enabled robust and cost-effective data communication for around 100 clients on the container terminal.

The port and mining industries are just two examples of where countless businesses around the world are currently being transformed by digital technologies. As industries start adopting digital technologies and automation, we aspire to enable these technologies through innovative cellular technology that maximizes productivity, reduces inefficiencies, and enables sustainability.

prevent operational outage, to move traffic quickly, and adapt to the needs and behaviors of customers proactively.

While this transformation is not easy it can be enabled through powerful tools, hours of data crunching, analysis and algorithms creating automation rules implemented in front and back-office environments. That transformation can shift competences by bringing in analysts who allow an engineer, for example, to monitor network performance in real time and react to challenges or predict peaks in usage.

These transformations with partners like MTN Benin are being implemented through processes such as Ericsson’s Automated Network Operations portfolio. This portfolio allows CSPs to enhance network performance and scaling across physical and virtual resources, as well as simplifying the way networks are run in terms of time and efforts required. Unique analytics applications allow CSPs to leverage untapped data into actionable insights and realtime decisions, ensuring a superior customer experience.

Embarking on this journey is critical in this data rich world. A recent managed services engagement between Ericsson and MTN Benin over the last 18 months has focused

on automating operations with improvements in areas such as automated alarm correlation so that the organization can be even more responsive to customer requirements or network performance. There has been a 15 percent increase in automated alarm correlation, 47 percent increase in automated ticket creation to respond to customer requests, with an additional 68 percent increase in automated work orders in the field.

In turn this has proven to not only improve network performance and quality but improve the overall availability of the network to MTN customers by enabling 55% reduction in faults on network sites and increase in data traffic and voice quality.

The foundation of MTN business is driven by the core belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life. A belief that enables MTN to make the lives of the people we serve a whole lot brighter. Being a Communication Service Provider, MTN Benin’s key focus is on enhancing customer perception and quality of services for customers. With automation and continuous innovation, MTN Benin is now better prepared, for unforeseen events such as outages, any degradation of quality of services etc.

Automation has not only simplified MTN Benin’s work environment, but it

has also supported in enhancing client perception in minimal time. In addition to that there is significant improvement in organizational efficiencies, network resiliencies and reduction in number of issues. MTN Benin is also preparing to launch Artificial Intelligence use cases this year in this enhanced environment to further boost service quality.

In a nutshell, strategically implementing automation in MTN Benin managed services has delivered significant business value by enhancing the quality of service, time to market, increasing the response rate to changing business requirements and reducing security and compliance risks radically.

This just shows the fantastic brave new world we embark on bringing predictability in MTN Benin’s operations. This is just the beginning of the journey in terms of automation capabilities. CSPs services enable the broad spectrum of industry sectors allowing customers such as MTN to develop specific automation use cases to enable customers to be understood fully and develop tailored and quality services that reflect the potential that 5G will bring to the world.

visit www.ericsson.com

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Continued from page 3 what the future of care will hold.

“Connectivity between sensors and devices aids real-time patient care, even from remote locations,” it states.

“The large volume of data generated creates opportunities for new models of care and supports the delivery of medicine that is predictive, preventive, personalised and participatory.”

Quro Medical’s Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer Zikho Pali agrees that there has long been a need of an innovative approach to treating acute patients in South Africa. “The

// WE PRIDE OURSELVES IN A PARTNERSHIP THAT WILL HELP GROW THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC HEALTH //

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healthcare sector across the globe has experienced extreme pressure and strain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and desperately needs digital solutions to ease many of the problems experienced in it.”

With this innovation, Quro has pioneered South Africa’s first technology-enabled hospital-at-home solution. “What technology like this means for South Africa is a fundamental transformation of healthcare as we know it,” enthuses Dr Mhlomi. “For a very long time we’ve accepted the status quo despite repeated reports that call for a change in how healthcare is being delivered. We not only improve geographical accessibility to healthcare, but also financial access.

“Quro Medical is pioneering an innovative healthcare delivery and economic model, set to leverage the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, using key patient physiological data as digital biomarkers to not only detect but to anticipate which patients are likely to fall into trouble.”

PERFECT PARTNERSHIP For many years, the US and Australia have led the way in IoT solutions for healthcare applications, which meant that Quro Medical faced the considerable challenge of finding reliable and affordable connectivity to make their solution work in South Africa.

When lives are at stake, network quality must be of world-class standard to enable rapid monitoring, understanding of and acting upon data, and MTN’s IoT connectivity offering banishes any prospect of delays in the data transmitted from a patient’s home to Quro Medical’s healthcare professionals.

“One of the main challenges that we faced was securing reliable and affordable internet connectivity,” Pali details, “that can keep up with the performance requirements of our technology, to enable us to reach patients in under serviced communities.

“MTN has the best network coverage in the country. For our

MTN BUSINESS

technology to be effective and safe to be used for patient monitoring, we need to minimise disconnections or prolonged interruptions in internet connectivity. In light of this, MTN was the obvious choice for us.”

MTN Business’s Acting GM: SME Songezo Masiso details the solution that was devised as a result of Quro’s approach. “To address the client’s requirements, we provided Quro Medical with mobile data connectivity in the form of MTN Made for Business Data S++ offering 6GB per month.

“We also provide Quro Medical with a daily usage report to address the client’s requirement to manage the data available,” Masiso expands. This report provides information on patient health as well as the amount of data used every day on each patient, generated through MTN’s telemetry platform.

“For our solution to work optimally and be safe for patient monitoring we need connectivity which is reliable, and to minimise prolonged disruptions,” Pali delineates, “and there hasn’t been a single moment of lapsed connectivity.

“We chose MTN as a connectivity partner because of its reach, but also the enthusiasm with which it embraces technology and how open it has been to an innovation like ours, adapting and tailoring its offering to meet our requirements.”

MTN REIGNS SUPREME At a time when MTN’s provision has to stand up to the strictest scrutiny, it has again been officially recognised

// WHAT TECHNOLOGY LIKE THIS MEANS FOR SOUTH AFRICA IS A FUNDAMENTAL TRANSFORMATION OF HEALTHCARE AS WE KNOW IT //

as the undisputed top network in South Africa. Following its retention of the crown in 2020, the first quarter of 2021 has again seen it outstrip the competition, with average download speeds of 64.29Mbps dwarfing the 32.76Mbps in second place.

“We have continued to maximise on the opportunity created by the increased spectrum, to expand and enhance our world-class network,” commented MTN SA CEO Godfrey Motsa.

“We are honoured as MTN to witness the continued growth in our network quality, and overall network performance. We have managed to constantly widen the gap between ourselves and our competitors to give our customers a superior experience,” added MTN SA Chief Technology and Information Officer, Giovanni Chiarelli. “We will continue to put our customer’s first by maintaining the high standards we have set for ourselves.”

In partnering with a network of this calibre, Quro Medical will obtain the high-quality, reliable internet connectivity required for its IoT ecosystem to function optimally, an astute choice bolstered by the $1.1 million recently secured in seed funding. “This investment will enable us to accelerate our growth and meet the increased demand from our clients,” Dr Mhlomi explained.

// THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY BECOMES SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT WHEN IT CAN SAVE LIVES // “We are focused on saving lives and enhancing patient care. The technology is the enabler, making all of this possible,” he added, as Quro seeks to become the home healthcare service of choice in Southern Africa. “As a young and blackowned company set to be a leader in healthcare innovation in Africa, we pride ourselves in a partnership that will help grow the future of public health.

“The fact that Quro Medical has partnered with South Africa’s best mobile network will provide us with the reliability and quality of connectivity that we require to provide South Africans with high quality healthcare at affordable rates,” concludes Zikho Pali.

“Quality and affordability don’t have to be mutually exclusive, and that is what our partnership with MTN signifies.”

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