Rhino Conservation Botswana IoT Telematics Case Study
IoT Asset Tracking Success

Helping the Rhino Population to Grow with IoT Connectivity.

Discover how we’re helping the Rhino Conservation Botswana to overcome the connectivity challenge in the Okavango Delta.

Rhino Conservation Botswana achieves connectivity in the wilderness  

Rhino Conservation Botswana (RCB) is an independent Trust, working in close partnership with the Government of Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks. RCB has been operational since 2016 with a mandate to effectively monitor and assist manage the wild rhino populations of the Okavango Delta; to achieve rhino populations of black and white rhino that are growing and thriving in the Okavango Delta. 

In the past decade poachers have killed more than 8,200 rhinos in South Africa. Today the rhino population hangs in the balance with less than 21,000 white rhinos and 5,500 black rhinos in existence.  

To help keep the team stay safe on patrols and to track their activities and movements throughout the Okavango Delta’s vast landscape, RCB use tracking devices across their vehicle fleet. These trackers are incredibly important because of the data they provide on distance, time and for vehicle upkeep. They inform which areas have been patrolled – and when – and identify who is closest to respond to an incident in the game reserve.  

RCB previously worked with other tracking devices on the market before approaching Online Solutions for a bespoke purpose-built hardware solution in 2019. Online Solutions resells Eseye’s AnyNet Secure SIM to their customers in Botswana, providing them with a scalable and highly secure IoT managed service. 

Why Rhino Conservation Botswana chose Eseye

Achieving connectivity in the wilderness

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Rhino conservation

RCB assists security agents, offers consultancy and data insights, and contributes to the monitoring and maintenance of the Okavango Delta’s rhino population.

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Reduced fuel consumption

The patrol team has reduced its fuel consumption by 25% using real-time tracking data.

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Enhanced security

RCB’s team security measures have been improved by having complete transparency over vehicle locations.

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The Okavango Delta covers an area of 15,000 square kilometres and is the largest inland delta in the world.  This unique, pulsing wetland can prove challenging at times when it floods seasonally, but its vast plains provide a lush oasis for wildlife. Unsurprisingly, given these facts, connectivity can be somewhat challenging too.

In Botswana there are only three mobile network operators providing cellular coverage. Without a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) to guide them, RCB negotiated their own connectivity with one mobile network provider which left them experiencing unreliable connectivity, poor network coverage and therefore reduced tracking device uptime. 

RCB’s trackers are permanently affixed to the patrol vehicles and traverse across the delta’s rough terrain. RCB sought a cellular connectivity solution which would integrate seamlessly with their tracker’s hardware and provide a robust, long-term remedy to the challenging connectivity coverage in the area.  

Eseye’s AnyNet Secure SIM cards empowered RCB to take back control of their connectivity. By design the AnyNet Secure SIM enables IoT devices to agnostically connect to over 700 mobile networks, so, we utilised this multi-IMSI capability to steer RCB’s devices onto another local mobile network operator (MNO) in Botswana to deliver extended coverage and higher connectivity uptime.   

Harnessing IoT with Rhino Conservation Botswana

Seamless network switching

The MNO landscape is constantly changing but Eseye’s SIMs allow RCB to respond to these changes and seamlessly switch profiles (IMSIs) over-the-air to find the best available network connectivity. Eseye manages the connectivity process so that RCB can focus on their conservation work.   

RCB rhino

Heat-resistant SIMs

Botswana experiences highs of 44 degrees Celsius in their summer months between November and March. The AnyNet Secure SIM is built to operate in temperature ranges of between -40°C and +105°C – making it robust enough to withstand even the harshest of climates. 

RCB tracking

Easy asset tracking

A single SKU code on the AnyNet Secure SIM allows RCB to track inventory, simplify business operations, and deploy to all markets supported by the modem. RCB could set up its vehicle trackers right away as Eseye’s SIMs are embedded into the hardware – zero-touch connectivity, straight out-of-the-box.   

RCB rhino image

Secure data ingestion

Tracking data is securely ingested into the cloud, thanks to Eseye’s integration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. From several weeks’ worth of data, RCB discovered discrepancies in vehicle movement that indicated a possible security risk, which was then resolved.  

RCB vehicles

Poor connectivity was impacting the effectiveness of our trackers and on the quality of data we could collect. Now using the AnyNet Secure SIM we have a highly reliable cellular solution which is enabling us to unlock the full potential of our IoT trackers

Michael Fitt, Conservation Manager

We celebrate Rhino Conservation Botswana taking the lead on incredible conservation work in Africa. At Eseye we believe that connectivity should never be a barrier to achieving the desired outcome, in this case accurate location tracking to help grow the Rhino population

Paul Marshall, Co-Founder and CCO

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