Johannesburg — Vodacom Business has unveiled Local Breakout (LBO) in South Africa, a major upgrade to its managed Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity platform designed to enhance speed, reliability, and compliance for enterprise clients.
Traditionally, IoT SIM traffic is routed through international gateways before reaching local networks. LBO changes that by ensuring all global SIM traffic is routed locally within South Africa, cutting out the detour and significantly improving performance.
According to Vodacom Business, preliminary tests showed that latency was reduced and speeds improved by up to eight times in certain environments. The change is expected to have an immediate impact on industries dependent on real-time responsiveness, including:
Fleet tracking and logistics
Video surveillance and alarm systems
Financial services and POS devices
Government tenders involving vehicle tracking
Asset monitoring in high-security sectors
A Critical Leap for Speed and Security
“This advancement addresses critical connectivity challenges in industries where speed, security and reliability are non-negotiable,” said Videsha Proothveerajh, Director of Vodacom Business.
She highlighted that government departments, financial institutions, and security companies would benefit most from the new system, operating “with greater efficiency and confidence.”
Compliance at the Core
LBO also provides a critical compliance advantage by ensuring that all IoT data remains within South Africa’s borders. This is particularly important for sectors like financial services, where PCI compliance prohibits routing through international networks, and for government contracts that require strict local data handling.
While encrypted end-to-end transmission has long been used, it often introduces latency and compatibility issues with legacy point-of-sale devices. Vodacom Business says LBO is a practical alternative that reduces these challenges.
Powered by Vodafone IoT’s Global Data Service Platform
Vodacom’s managed IoT services are built on Vodafone IoT’s Global Data Service Platform (GDSP), one of the world’s largest platforms with over 215 million connections.
“GDSP simplifies device management, automates tasks, secures data flow, and optimises costs by allowing us to select the best data plans across networks and geographies,” said Ross Hickey, CEO of Trinity, a Vodacom Business customer.
Businesses can use the GDSP platform to:
Remotely manage SIM cards
Add new devices at scale
Benefit from anti-theft features
Switch automatically between networks
Pay only for actual usage through smart SIM management
Its Single SIM technology also ensures that devices and critical systems remain online even if one network fails.
Driving Africa’s Digital Transformation
“As Africa accelerates its digital transformation, secure and reliable IoT connectivity is essential for driving innovation,” added Proothveerajh.
With LBO, Vodacom Business is positioning itself as a leader in secure IoT infrastructure, offering enterprises both operational efficiency and peace of mind.
