MTN Pulse · Architecture · Draft 8 Oct 2026
Pulse Site Kit
One kit per state. The kit keeps one network link. The phones connect to it by USB and use their own SIMs for test traffic.
Proposal. MTN has not agreed to the office-rack server yet.Two ways to build the kit
Both builds use the same phone host, USB hub, switch and UPS in one 12U wall cabinet. They differ in how the cabinet holds the phones. Variant A uses only parts that we buy. Variant B adds one custom 3D-printed rack module.
The models use real sizes in millimetres. "approx." marks a size that is not confirmed.
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- 1Rack cabinet. AICO 12U wall-mounted cabinet, 600 × 450 mm. 19-inch rails: hole spacing 465 mm, inner width 450 mm, 1U = 44.45 mm. The listing gives no outer height. The model uses about 633 mm (estimate) and shows the door open.
- 2Phones. 3 × Galaxy A6, 150 × 71 × 8 mm. 1 × Huawei P smart 2019, 155 × 73 × 8 mm. They stand on their long edge in the wire comb, with the USB port to the front.
- 3Phone holder. Dinggong 20DT: a 20-port USB 3.0 hub box, 350 × 159 × 78 mm. A 35 mm wire comb sits on top (113 mm in total). The gaps are about 12 mm (seller photo, measured by hand).
- 4Phone cables. Right-angle micro-USB, 27 cm, from the front end of each phone to the hub.
- 5USB hub. RSHTECH RSH-A10, 10 ports, approx. 240 × 60 × 25 mm, on a tray at U6.
- 6Switch. TP-Link TL-SG1005D, approx. 100 × 98 × 25 mm, on the same tray.
- 7Phone host. Topton G2C N100, fanless, black finned aluminium, approx. 130 × 125 × 40 mm, on its own tray at U5.
- 8UPS. Mercury Maverick 850VA tower, approx. 280 × 100 × 150 mm, on the bottom tray (U1 to U4).
- 9The one link. One Ethernet cable from the switch to the MTN network.
- 10Trays. 4 trays for 600 × 450 cabinets, 1U each. The listing gives no depth. The model uses 300 mm (estimate).
- 11Free space. U11 and U12 stay free, because you remove the phones from the top.
The model also shows one USB cable from the hub to the phone host, and one patch cable from the phone host to the switch. These have no number.
- Variant A uses only parts that we buy.
- The phone holder stands on a tray at U7. It is a 20-port USB 3.0 hub box with a wire comb on top. The phones stand on their long edge in the comb.
- A short right-angle cable connects each phone to the hub on the tray below. The switch shares that tray.
- The phone host has its own tray. The UPS stands on the bottom tray.
- The holder includes a 20-port USB 3.0 hub that we do not need. We use the RSHTECH hub for its per-port power switching.
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- 1Rack cabinet. The same AICO 12U wall cabinet as in variant A.
- 2Phones. The 4 phones of today are solid. 6 later phones are faded and drawn at the 170 × 78 × 9 mm maximum.
- 3Printed module. 3U (133 mm) × 19-inch, 482.6 mm wide with the rack ears, about 250 mm deep. PETG or ASA. It prints in 2 halves. Design target, not built.
- 4Phone slots. 10 upright slots, 12 mm wide, about 80 mm deep. You insert each phone from the top. The slot spacing in the model is not confirmed.
- 5Label strip. A strip at the front names each slot.
- 6Rear bay. It holds the phone host and the USB hub. The lid has vent slots.
- 7Rack ears. 2 separate printed parts.
- 8Switch. TP-Link TL-SG1005D, approx. 100 × 98 × 25 mm, on a 1U shelf.
- 9UPS. Mercury Maverick 850VA tower, approx. 280 × 100 × 150 mm, on the bottom shelf.
- 10The one link. One Ethernet cable from the switch to the MTN network.
- 11Cable channels. One channel runs from under each slot to the hub. The exploded view shows them.
- 12Trays. 2 trays for 600 × 450 cabinets: one for the UPS, one for the switch. The model uses a 300 mm depth (estimate).
- 13Free space. The space above the module stays free, because you remove the phones from the top.
The exploded view moves the 2 halves, the ears, the lids, the phones, the phone host and the hub apart. It makes the module see-through and shows the hidden cables.
- Variant B replaces the bought holder with one printed 3U rack module. It is a design target, not a built part.
- Ten upright slots at the front hold the phones. You insert each phone from the top.
- A channel under each slot takes the cable to the hub. The phone host and the hub sit in the rear bay, so no cable shows.
- A label strip at the front names each slot. The lid over the rear bay has vent slots.
- It prints in PETG or ASA as 2 halves plus 2 rack ears, because most printer beds are 220 to 256 mm.
A against B
| A · Bought parts | B · 3D-printed | |
|---|---|---|
| Phone holder | Dinggong 20DT: a 20-port USB 3.0 hub box, 350 × 159 × 78 mm, with a 35 mm wire comb on top. We do not need its hub. | One printed 3U rack module in PETG or ASA. It holds the phones, and its rear bay holds the phone host and the hub. Design target, not built. |
| Fit of the slots | Gaps of about 12 mm in a 35 mm wire comb (seller photo, measured by hand). Not tested with our phones. | Exact slot size: 12 mm wide, about 80 mm deep. The slots take phones up to 170 × 78 × 9 mm. |
| Cable routing | A short right-angle cable runs from the front end of each phone, down the front of the holder, to the hub on the tray below. The cables stay in view. | A channel runs from under each slot to the hub in the rear bay. No cable shows. |
| Look | Separate parts on 4 trays. | One module. A label strip at the front names each slot. |
| Lead time | Not confirmed. The holder ships from an Alibaba seller. | Not confirmed. B needs a CAD design and a print quote before the first print. |
| Cost of the holder | ₦267,501 to Lagos (₦79,492 + ₦188,009 shipping). Not confirmed. | Not confirmed. It needs a print quote. |
| Risk | No off-the-shelf holder met all 8 of our requirements. We pay for a hub that we do not use. | Design iterations, print quality, and finding a print service. |
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The rack setup
Both builds use one AICO 12U wall-mounted cabinet, 600 × 450 (Jumia, ₦140,000). It hangs on a wall and takes 60 kg at most. Its front door locks, and its side panels come off. Shelves are 600 × 450 rack trays (Jiji, OLWELL Computers, Ikeja, ₦10,000 each, not yet confirmed by phone).
| Rack units | A · Bought parts | B · 3D-printed |
|---|---|---|
| U11 to U12 | Free space, to lift the phones out | Free space, to lift the phones out |
| U10 | Top of the phones | Free space, to lift the phones out |
| U9 | Phones | Top of the phones |
| U8 | Wire comb and phones | Printed module |
| U7 | Tray, phone holder box | Printed module |
| U6 | Tray, USB hub, switch | Printed module |
| U5 | Tray, phone host | Tray, switch |
| U1 to U4 | Tray, UPS | Tray, UPS |
- Variant A needs 4 trays. Variant B needs 2 trays.
- A 9U cabinet is too small for variant A. The UPS, the host, the hub and the holder with its phones need 10U, and the phones need free space above them.
- The listing gives no outer height and no tray depth. The model uses estimates: 50 mm panels above and below the rails, and 300 mm trays.
- Steel walls can weaken the phones' cellular signal. Test the signal with the door closed. Remove the side panels if the signal drops.
- MTN server rooms already have racks. In an MTN rack, use trays that fit the depth of that rack. The 600 × 450 trays fit a 450 mm cabinet.
- Other 12U cabinets on Jiji, Ikeja (not yet confirmed by phone): AICO 12U 600 × 450, ₦100,000, AICO 12U 600 × 600, ₦125,000.
Today: the interim setup
Today the phones are in our apartment. MTN testers use the console in a browser. An MTN VM serves the console through a small reverse proxy (Caddy).
Scroll the diagram sideways to see all of it.
The VM never talks to a phone. Every tap and screen read stays on the PC over USB. Only the console, clicks and live video cross the internet.
We prefer Tailscale for the one link. The other option is an SSH tunnel that the PC opens to the VM.
The MTN router gives the phones Wi-Fi for app traffic only. A UPS for the router and the hub comes later.
Across the country
Each kit runs the full backend for its own phones, including the drive loop and the scheduler. When a run finishes, the kit sends the run folder to the centre. The centre gives MTN one console and one report for every state.
Scroll the diagram sideways to see all of it.
A run makes hundreds of round trips to its phone, one after another. Inside a kit, every trip goes over USB. On our own fleet on 9 Sep 2026, a direct LAN gave 68–95 ms per round trip. A Tailscale relay through Paris gave 0.3–1.1 s. If the link to the centre drops, the kit continues its tests and sends the results later.
One link per state, not one per phone
Today every cable-free phone keeps its own network path to the server. In the kit, a cable connects each phone to the phone host. So each state has one network link to keep alive.
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Inside one kit
The phone host drives the phones over USB and powers them through the hub. Control needs no root. Every time a phone connects, the phone host reapplies the phone settings over USB: stay awake, doze off and system updates blocked. Only 1 or 2 capture phones are rooted, and they also run the keeper module. The UPS keeps the host, the hub and the network switch on through a power cut. Each phone reaches the cell network on its own SIM, which is the same path a customer's phone uses.
Scroll the diagram sideways to see all of it.
Bill of materials
This is the part list for one kit. We saw the prices on 8 Oct 2026. The phones and the SIMs are not in this list. The Phones section covers them.
| Part | Pick | Where | Price to Lagos | Status | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone host | Topton G2C N100, fanless, 2 × Intel i226-V, barebone | Alibaba · TOPTON TECHNOLOGY CO., LIMITED | ₦196,906 + shippingShipping not shown. Estimate ₦55,426, from the same seller's other listing. | Send an enquiry | Not shown |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR4 SODIMM | Konga | ₦100,000 | Price seen | 1 to 9 business days |
| SSD | PLANET First 256 GB NVMe | Jumia | ₦85,750₦85,000 + ₦750 | Price seen | Not confirmed |
| USB hub | RSHTECH RSH-A10, 10 ports, 36 W, per-port power switching (uhubctl) | AliExpress | ₦56,449.11Free shipping | Test 1 unit firstThe chip revision is not confirmed. Only the Realtek-chip version is confirmed to cut port power. | Oct 19 to 26 |
| UPS | Mercury Maverick 850VA, 108 Wh lead-acid, 2 to 6 ms switchoverExpect 45 to 60 minutes at 60 W (estimate). It has only 2 outlets, so the kit needs a power strip (next line). | Jumia · Pacenga Limited | ₦61,300Delivered | Price seen | Not confirmed |
| Power strip | APC 5-way surge protector, 5 universal sockets, 13 A fused plugThe UPS has only 2 outlets. | Jiji · Lagos Island | ₦9,500Seen 8 Oct 2026, 12:10 to 12:55 WAT | Not yet confirmed by phone | Not confirmed |
| Switch | TP-Link TL-SG1005D, 5 gigabit ports, fanless, 3.67 W maxOptional for a single host. | Jumia · Micro Tech | ₦20,950Door delivery | Price seen Optional | Oct 13 to 14 |
| Phone cables | HAPPORIA 0.5 m, right-angle, USB-A to USB-C, braided, 6 A, data. Qty 10. | AliExpress | ₦66,560.20for 10 (₦6,656.02 each) | Price seen | Not confirmed |
| Micro-USB cables | AQJG 27 cm, right-angle, USB 2.0 data. Qty 4. | AliExpress | ₦12,082.08for 4 (₦3,020.52 each). Same cart as the USB-C cables, so shipping is free. | Price seen | Not confirmed |
| Phone holder | A: Dinggong 20DT hub box with a wire comb, 350 × 159 × 113 mm.B: the printed 3U module. | Alibaba · Shenzhen Dinggong (A)B: print service not chosen | A: ₦267,501₦79,492 + ₦188,009 shipping. B: not confirmed. | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Rack cabinet | AICO 12U wall-mounted rack, 600 × 450, flat packMax load 60 kg. Lockable front door, removable side panels. Only needed when MTN gives no rack space. | Jumia | ₦140,000 | Price seen | Not confirmed |
| Rack trays | 600 × 450 network cabinet rack tray, 1UQty 4 for variant A, 2 for variant B. Tray depth not confirmed. | Jiji · OLWELL Computers, Ikeja | ₦10,000 each₦40,000 for A, ₦20,000 for B | Not yet confirmed by phone | Not confirmed |
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- Phone host: ₦196,906 plus shipping (estimate ₦55,426).
- Phone holder: A ₦267,501 (not confirmed). B not confirmed.
- Power strip for the UPS: ₦9,500 on Jiji, not yet confirmed by phone.
- Rack trays: ₦40,000 for A, ₦20,000 for B, not yet confirmed by phone.
What we buy today
The interim setup needs a router plan, a powered USB hub, a 5V power adapter for the hub and 3 micro-USB data cables. Our friend in Computer Village buys the hub, the adapter and the cables. The NVIDIA PC has USB-A ports, so we need no USB-C adapter.
Today's list
| Item | Pick | Where | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Router plan | MTN router plan Gold, 30 daysUp to 50 Mbps, then 5 Mbps after 400 GB. | MTN router plans | ₦40,000 |
| Powered USB hub |  4-port USB 3.0 hub with a DC 5V power jackNo adapter in the pack. |
Our friend, Computer Village | Not confirmed |
| Hub power adapter |  5V 3A DC power adapterIts round pin fits the hub's power jack. |
Our friend, Computer Village | Not confirmed |
| 3 micro-USB cables |  3 micro-USB data cables |
Our friend, Computer Village | Not confirmed |
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5V only. A 9V or 12V router adapter can burn the hub and the phones.
We already have an extension socket, so today's list has no power strip.
Other options seen on Jiji
| Item | Listing | Place | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powered USB hub | Onten OTN-8108, 7-port USB 3.0 data hubThe listing says "includes an external power adapter". The adapter rating is not confirmed. | Lagos, Ikeja (Computer Village) | ₦18,000Not yet confirmed by phone |
| 3 micro-USB data cables | Havit CB6159, USB-A to micro-USB, 1 m, "Fast Data Sync" | Lagos (Ikeja or Ikorodu) | ₦6,000for 3 (₦2,000 each). Not yet confirmed by phone. |
Other options seen on Jumia and Konga
| Item | Pick | Where | Price | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 micro-USB cables | SHPLUS 1 m micro-USB data cable | Jumia | ₦7,470for 3 with door delivery (₦1,990 each) | Oct 9 to 12 |
| Powered USB hub | 10-port USB 2.0 hub with adapter | Konga | ₦7,000 | 1 to 9 business days |
| Powered USB hub | 7-port USB hubAdapter not confirmed. | Jumia | ₦7,328₦5,878 + ₦1,450 | Oct 13 to 14 |
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Phones
Today the kit has 4 phones. All 4 connect by micro-USB.
| Phone | Count | Root | Port | Size (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy A6 | 3 | Rooted | micro-USB | 150 × 71 × 8 |
| Huawei P smart 2019 | 1 | Not rooted | micro-USB | 155 × 73 × 8 |
Root is only for API capture
We do not need root to control a phone. adb, uiautomator2, screen capture and the live view all work over USB without root.
We need root only for API capture, which decrypts the app's HTTPS traffic. The reason is that the app trusts only the system certificate store.
So most phones stay unrooted and match what customers own. 1 or 2 rooted phones do API capture, and they also run the keeper module.
Recommended additions
Root is optional for these phones.
| Phone | Role | Where | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tecno Spark 40 | Budget. Tecno is the top brand family in Nigeria. | Not chosen | ₦140,000 to ₦195,000Guide price | Not confirmed |
| Samsung Galaxy A06 | Budget Samsung | Kara | ₦143,500 + delivery | Not confirmedModel SM-A065F/DS not confirmed. |
| Infinix Note 50 Pro | Mid-range | Not chosen | Not checked | Not checked |
| Tecno Phantom V Flip 2 | Foldable. The cheapest foldable on the Nigerian market. | Not chosen | ₦959,999 to ₦1,100,0002025 guide | Not confirmed |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 | Premium foldable. Optional. | Not chosen | About ₦1,648,500 to ₦1,906,380 | Not confirmedThe price aggregators disagree. |
| Google Pixel 9 Pro | Rooted capture phone | Jumia · Zibex stores | ₦860,9501-year warranty | Check on arrivalCheck that you can enable "OEM unlocking". If you cannot, return the phone within 7 days. |
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The slots of variant B take phones up to 170 × 78 × 9 mm. This page does not confirm the sizes of the foldables. Check them before you order.
Dropped: The Nothing Phone (3a) is import only (₦733,647 + customs). The Infinix Hot 50i is out of stock everywhere.
Brand share in Nigeria, June 2026
Browsing share, not unit sales. Source: Statcounter, mobile browsing traffic.
The top 4 brands are within 2.2 points of each other. Statcounter, Nigeria.
When something fails
Each failure has one layer that brings the system back. A person is only needed when hardware fails for good.
| What fails | What brings it back | Handled by | Person needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| A phone restarts (crash, power blip) | adb over USB needs no network. When the phone connects again, the phone host reapplies its settings over USB. It keeps the screen awake, disables doze and blocks system updates. | phone host | No |
| A phone freezes and adb stops answering | The kit watchdog restarts the phone over adb. If that fails, it cuts the power to the phone's USB port and then restores it. | phone host | No |
| Grid power cut | The UPS keeps the phone host, the hub and the switch on. The phones keep charging. | kit | No |
| A power cut longer than the UPS lasts | The phone host starts by itself when power returns (BIOS setting). A fully drained phone may not start by itself. This varies by model. | kit | Sometimes |
| A system update arrives | The phone host blocks system updates over USB every time the phone connects. On the 1 or 2 rooted capture phones, the keeper module also blocks them, so root survives. | phone host | No |
| The kit's link to the centre drops | The kit keeps running its scheduled tests and stores the evidence. It sends the finished runs when the link returns. | kit | No |
| Wi-Fi or the tailnet drops | Does not apply. Nothing controls the phones over Wi-Fi or Tailscale. | none | No |
| A phone loses cellular signal | The kit still drives the phone over USB. The report records "no signal" as the cause. | phone host | No |
| A phone dies for good (swollen battery, hardware) | The centre alerts the named contact in that state. The contact puts a spare phone in its place, and the kit enrols it in one step. A capture phone needs a pre-rooted spare. | centre + people | Yes |
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Decisions
- MTNVery likelyKits sit in MTN offices, on MTN's internal network.
- MTNMaybeA small server in each office rack. This is the open risk.
- MTNVery likelyTest SIMs with data for every phone.
- MTNVery likelyA named contact in each state. The design aims for zero routine visits.