Africa’s IoT growth hinges on uptime, industry insider warns

Africa’s connected economy could stall unless regulators, operators and businesses build for network resilience, according to CommsCloud Managing Director Peter Walsh. He says always-on connectivity is becoming essential for IoT use cases across logistics, AI, finance and government.

Why it matters: - Africa’s IoT adoption depends on devices staying online, not just on new technologies like 5G, AI or blockchain. - Without reliable uptime, promised gains in efficiency, automation and data-driven decisions can break down. - Walsh says downtime is the biggest threat to digital transformation.

What happened: - Peter Walsh, managing director of CommsCloud, warned that Africa risks falling behind on IoT adoption if uptime problems are not addressed. - The warning came in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 23, 2026. - Walsh argued that the continent’s digital economy depends on uptime across connected systems. - Walsh said the future of Africa’s digital economy depends on uptime whether the technology is 5G, artificial intelligence or blockchain.

The details: - The 2023 ABB report, Value of Reliability: ABB Survey Report 2023, estimated that enterprises lose about $170,000 per hour of unplanned IT downtime globally on average. - Walsh said uptime has become essential because of pressure for efficiency in logistics, rising demand from AI and analytics, and regulatory requirements facing insurers, fintechs and governments. - Most IoT devices in use today rely on SIM cards tied to a single mobile network operator or on roaming agreements built for travelers rather than always-on cross-border deployments. - Walsh warned that foreign roaming SIMs may be cut off or deemed non-compliant as restrictions on permanent roaming tighten. - Permanent roaming refers to SIMs used continuously outside their home network. - African regulators are among those enforcing stricter rules, Walsh said. - Walsh said IoT systems should be designed to recover instantly when outages occur. - Walsh also said resilient IoT requires close alignment among connectivity providers, device manufacturers and customers. - Connectivity should be part of IoT architecture and strategy from day one, according to Walsh.

Between the lines: - The warning suggests Africa’s IoT market may be overfocused on headline themes such as smart cities and Industry 4.0 while underweighting the infrastructure needed to make them work. - The message shifts the debate from innovation ambition to operational reliability. - For businesses deploying connected devices across borders, compliance risk is becoming part of connectivity planning, not an afterthought.

What’s next: - Walsh expects Africa’s IoT adoption to slow unless stakeholders design networks for resilience and instant recovery from disruptions. - Regulators, operators and enterprises will need to align on connectivity rules, device design and deployment strategy. - The practical test for Africa’s digital economy will be whether connected systems can stay online consistently enough to deliver value.