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Book a demo of our APN portal and help us understand your businesses APN requirements.
Get a customised proposal within 48 hours of the demo.
Enjoy greater insight into, and control of, mobile data used in your business and start banking the savings.
Supported MOBILE Networks
Key Features
A post-paid, fully aggregated mobile data platform
All data is pooled and a single data bundle applied across all networks
High speed national mobile data across MTN, Vodacom and Telkom Mobile networks
Simplified invoicing — one invoice for all mobile data services
Manage SIMS, users and departments, set usage caps and view data usage at an application level (e.g. WhatsApp, Youtube, Windows Updates, etc.) via the Saicom Mobility Portal
Prepaid (Vodacom) and Postpaid (All Networks) SIMs
Flexible plans starting at 5GB scaling to thousands of SIM cards and Terabytes of data
Block Applications by category across your shared APN or Manage Applications end to end on your dedicated APN
Shared APN and choice of Internet or VPN-only services
Powerful reporting per department, site, individual and SIM usage reporting
NarrowBand-lnternet of Things (NB-loT) support (Vodacom)
APPLICATION USAGE BREAKDOWN
Netflix
Office 365
Benefits
Enjoy real-time insights and more control of every mobile device across your company
Save on mobile data spend by reducing wastage
Fast delivery times, minimal configuration and no extra hardware setup enables an easy seamless experience
Fewer human resources needed to manage your businesses mobile data
Reseller Whitelabeling
Saicom offers resellers the opportunity to entirely customise the mobility portal with their own branding.
The reseller can fully brand the mobility portal. All references to Saicom are completely removed from the portal and notifications
Resellers can use a personalised domain, such as https://apn.reseller.co.za, for their platform
Resellers have the flexibility to customise notification channels, including WhatsApp, Email, SMS, and Telegram
The background image of the application can be customised to align with the reseller's brand identity
All notifications sent from the platform display the reseller's 'From' address, such as no-reply@reseller.co.za, ensuring a unique reseller origin
The platform's favicon can be replaced with a custom icon representing the reseller's brand
Resellers can define their primary, secondary, and default colour schemes, allowing for a consistent branded user interface
The Access Point Name (APN) can be customised to align with the reseller's brand, such as resellerapn, reinforcing brand identity
Resellers can replace the default application menu logo with their own
Public APN and Private APN
Public APN
Saicom’s Public APN provides mobile Internet access, allowing your mobile workforce to connect to the Internet, on common ports and protocols.
Saicom can supply you with “data only” SIM cards or we can migrate your existing postpaid / contract SIM cards to any of our APNs.
Each SIM would be reflected on the Saicom Mobility Portal, such that accounting of data usage can be recorded. IP addresses are allocated dynamically, traffic is routed out to the Internet via a centralised Fortigate Firewall. With the “Firewall Lite” bolt-on solution, static IP addresses are assigned in order to facilitate source-based category and application blocking. Monitoring, thresholds, and data caps are configured on an individual level using the Saicom Mobility Portal – our mobility management platform.
Private APN
Private APN’s can be likened to a VPN on a GSM network. They provide a customised routing configuration, allowing mobile users to connect into your headquarters, usually via MPLS or an SD-WAN network. Traffic may also be routed through a dedicated or shared firewall, or into a Data Centre or Hosting environment.
A Private APN provides clients with a higher level of control and customisation than a Public APN and allows for application-level control as well as blocking and shaping when paired with Saicom’s Cloud Firewall.
Saicom’s APN offering
Saicom’s APN solution is available in 4 options: Public (Shared) APN, Public (Shared) APN with Firewall Lite and the Private APN Solution.
| Public APN (Shared Firewall) | Public APN (Firewall Lite) | Public APN (Firewall Plus) | Private APN (Dedicated Firewall) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saicom Mobility Portal |  |
|
|
|
| Reverse billed data (Data billed to the enterprise, not user) | |
|
|
|
| Internet breakout | |
|
|
|
| Device specific IP addressability (Static IP Address) | |
|
|
|
| Internet breakout through Customised Firewall |  |
Application category blocking only |
Shared firewall with additional flexibility |
|
| Inbound port requests (e.g. Security Camera, Servers etc) | |
Public /32 IP address required |
Public /32 IP address required |
|
| MPLS VPN (Virtual Private Network) | |
|
|
Routing via private network XConnect or dedicated layer 2 links |
| Named APN (Customised “named” APN) | |
|
|
|
| Suitable for: | Simple Internet Connectivity |
Simple Internet Connectivity with Application blocking |
Bespoke Internet Firewall Rules |
Bespoke Internet Firewall Rules, VPN, MPLS, SD-WAN |
| Public APN (Shared Firewall) | Public APN (Firewall Lite) | Private APN (Dedicated Firewall) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saicom Connect (Mobility Management Portal) | |
|
|
| Reverse billed data (Data billed to the enterprise, not user) | |
|
|
| Internet breakout (common protocols) | |
|
|
| Device specific IP addressability (Static IP Address) | |
|
|
| Internet breakout through Customised Firewall | |
Application category blocking only |
|
| MPLS VPN (Virtual Private Network) | |
|
Routing via private network XConnect or dedicated layer 2 links |
| Named APN (Customised “named” APN) | |
|
|
| Inbound port requests (e.g. Security Camera, Servers etc) | |
|
|
| Suitable for: | Simple Internet Connectivity |
Simple Internet Connectivity with Application blocking |
Bespoke Internet Firewall Rules, VPN, MPLS, SD-WAN |
Managing Mobile Data on Saicom’s Mobility Portal
Through a single pane of glass, your administrators will have full access to manage your departments, sites, individuals and associated SIM cards.
Saicom Mobility Portal allows enterprise administrators to centrally manage their mobile usage. Whether it’s managing M2M (IoT) Devices, tablets, Mifi Routers, LTE Routers, Laptops or Mobile phones, Saicom Mobility Portal aggregates all data from these GSM devices into one easy to use platform.
Through the platform, administrators can make use of:
Application Reporting
Application layer usage reporting (e.g. Facebook, Youtube, Salesforce etc)
Analytics
View graphing and analytics to understand usage patterns
Centralised Bundle
All SIM cards, across all networks, consume off a central enterprise bundle
Friendly Device Names
The naming of SIMs (Friendly name e.g. Greg’s iPhone)
Capping
Configure data capping on individuals. Each connection to the network will require a SIM card. Each individual can be assigned multiple SIM cards (up-to 5) with a single individual data cap
Pairing of ICCID to IMEI (Phone to SIM Card)
This feature renders a SIM card useless unless used with the intended device
Soft Lock
Manually soft lock and unlock SIMs in real-time
Topups
Administrators can top up individual’s SIMs with additional data (out of centralised enterprise bundle)
Organise SIMs
Manage multiple APN’s, Sites, Departments, Individuals and SIM cards
Notifications
Custom notification percentages with notifications sent to WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS and Email
APN Contract term options
Saicom’s APN solution is flexible enough to cater for clients contract term requirements. We offer 12 and 24 month contractual terms. The table below highlights the options per contract term.
| APN Term Options | 12 Months | 24 Months |
|---|---|---|
| Public APN | |
|
| Upgrade bundle anytime 1 | |
|
| SIM Card fee (Month-to-Month) 2 | |
|
| Saicom Mobility Portal User Licenses 2 | |
|
| 3 Month Cancellation Period | |
|
| Access to all networks (Vodacom, MTN, Telkom) 3 | |
|
| Fortigate Firewall Lite - Add on 4 | |
|
| Private APN | |
|
| 1 Month “settling in” period 5 | |
|
| Downgrade 1 Tier (Every 6 Months) | |
|
| Fortigate Firewall Plus- Add on | |
|
| Fortigate Firewall Advanced - Add on 6 | |
|
| Auto Renew on contract term | |
|
| APN Term Options | 12 Months | 24 Months |
|---|---|---|
| Private APN | |
|
| Public APN | |
|
| 1 Month “settling in” period 1 | |
|
| Upgrade bundle anytime 2 | |
|
| Downgrade 1 Tier (Every 6 Months) | |
|
| SIM Card fee (Month-to-Month) 3 | |
|
| Saicom Connect User Licenses (Month-to-Month) 3 | |
|
| 3 Month Cancellation Period | |
|
| Auto Renew on contract term | |
|
| Access to all networks (Vodacom, MTN, Telkom) 4 | |
|
| Fortigate Firewall Lite - Add on 5 | |
|
| Fortigate Firewall Advanced - Add on 6 | |
|
- New bundle active 1st of new Month
- One calendar month cancellation period
- Default on Saicom public APN, else one private APN per network
- Public APN Only
- For the first month we allow enterprises who are not sure of their actual usage to use the first month’s traffic as a benchmark going forward.
During this time no out-of-bundle traffic will be charged. - Private APN Only
faq
Frequently Asked Questions
An APN (Access Point Name) is a gateway between a 3G/ LTE mobile network and another computer network, accessing the public internet or private virtual private network (VPN). It is a unique identifier that allows a connection to the network and identifies the data access services associated with your account. The APN is the exit point from the mobile network operator’s (MNO) 3G/LTE network into either the public internet or a private network.
A corporate mobile APN can deliver a secure connection that creates a private network on a mobile device, protecting information and linking multiple devices together.
This means a business or organisation can manage multiple SIM each delivering data connectivity through a private APN to remote workers. The company can set usage caps for employees, and view bandwidth on an application level, for example whether the user is accessing social networks or work-related sites.
Ultimately, a mobile APN can significantly reduce data spend in the organisation as management has an integrated reporting environment with a universal view of how employees use their mobile data. A mobile APN solution can also use prepaid or postpaid data to provide complete budgetary control.
Yes. Authentication on the mobile APN network complies with all governance requirements to provide companies with the peace of mind that their connections are secure. It is the ideal solution for any organisation with a distributed workforce looking to optimise cost and improve employee efficiency.
As the requirements for each organisation are unique, please complete our enquiry form and one of our expert consultants will contact you about the best APN service in South Africa.
Our APN solution is currently only available to our South African customers.
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We’re passionate about creating cost-effective solutions that empower businesses and make a real impact on their growth and productivity. By working closely with you, we’re able to create a tailored offering to best suit your business needs. Contact us now to talk about what we can do to help move your business forward.
