Freight services
Shipping Telecoms Equipment, Generators and Cable to South Sudan
Tower equipment, site power, fibre and data cable, delivered to the site itself rather than to a warehouse in Juba. You get a signed delivery note, photographs and video from the site, and on request we will handle the type approval application too.
What we move
Network and tower equipment
- Base station and BTS equipment, radios and remote radio units
- Antennas, feeders, jumpers and mounting hardware
- Microwave links and dishes
- Routers, switches, racks and outdoor cabinets
- Tower steel, headframes and fixings
- Test equipment, OTDRs, splicing kits and site tooling
Site power
- Diesel generators, canopies and control panels
- Rectifiers, inverters and power systems
- Solar panels, mounting frames and charge controllers (solar is priced separately, panels by the piece)
- Fuel tanks and bunded bases
- Site batteries, which have rules of their own and are covered below
Cable
- Fibre optic cable on drums, aerial and ducted
- Ducting, sub duct, warning tape and draw rope
- Joint closures, splice enclosures, patch panels and pigtails
- Copper, data and power cable
- Earthing and lightning protection
Generators also move as standalone plant for workshops, mines and farms. See machinery and heavy equipment
To the site, wherever the site is
A rollout does not happen in Juba. It happens at a tower site down a track two hours past the last town, and cargo that stops at a warehouse in the capital has not solved anything.
We deliver to the site: the tower base, the exchange, the data centre, the depot, the construction camp. That includes Kapoeta, Torit, Bor, Bentiu, Malakal, Rumbek, Wau, Aweil, Yambio and Yei, and the smaller places between them.
Being straight with you about how that works: we will get to your site. What changes through the year is the route, the vehicle and the lead time, not whether it can be done. A drum of fibre that goes on a trailer in February may need a smaller vehicle and an extra day in August. So field movements are quoted per consignment and we tell you the realistic timing before you commit, rather than quoting a date that suits the sale.
Tell us at quotation stage whether the site has offloading equipment. A cable drum or a canopied generator that arrives somewhere with no forklift and no ramp is a problem we would rather solve on the phone than at the gate.
Proof that it actually arrived
On a multi site rollout, the question is rarely whether cargo shipped. It is whether site 14 got its allocation, and who says so.
Every delivery comes back with:
- A signed delivery note, naming who received it and when
- Photographs taken at the site, showing the cargo, the condition it arrived in and the surroundings
- Video of the offload where you want it, which settles damage questions before they become claims
- The piece count against the packing list, so a short delivery is caught at the gate rather than three weeks later
That matters for more than reassurance. If you are invoicing a client, reporting to a lender or closing out a milestone on a build contract, the evidence pack is what gets the payment released. We put it together as a matter of course rather than as a favour.
Type approval, which catches people out
This one costs rollouts real money, and most freight companies will not mention it.
Communications and radio equipment generally needs type approval from the National Communication Authority before it can be imported, sold or used in South Sudan. The regulator publishes what the process involves.
In practice that means a consignment of radios, routers, microwave gear or anything else with a transmitter is not simply a freight question. Raise it with us at quotation stage, because:
- The approval attaches to the equipment, so it has to be dealt with before the shipment, not after it lands
- The authority asks for technical documentation that your supplier has and you may not
- It is the kind of thing that stops a container while a tower crew sits idle
One category we will not take on
Type approval is where network equipment becomes carriable. It is not a route to moving handheld two way radios and walkie talkies, which we refuse outright whatever paperwork is offered, along with every other military and security item. Read why. Base station radios, remote radio units and microwave links for a licensed operator, going to a known site, are a different proposition and are exactly what this page is about.
We can handle the application for you
Ask us and we will take the type approval application on as a separate piece of work. That means collecting the technical file from your supplier, putting the application together, lodging it with the Authority and following it up until a decision comes back, while the freight is being arranged in parallel rather than after it.
This is a service you request, not something bundled into a freight rate, so tell us early and we will quote it with the shipment.
The same honesty applies here as everywhere else on this site: the Authority grants type approval, not us. We can prepare the file properly, lodge it and chase it. We cannot promise an outcome, and we cannot promise a date. Anyone who tells you otherwise before the regulator has decided is guessing.
Standards certification may also apply separately. See Certificate of Conformity
Batteries are the other one
Telecom sites run on batteries, and batteries are regulated for transport whatever the invoice calls them. That applies to lithium site batteries, to the cells inside a rectifier cabinet, and to anything shipped with a battery already installed.
Declare them. An undeclared battery can get a whole consolidated load offloaded, and on an air shipment it can get the shipper reported. Tell us what is in the consignment and we will quote it properly rather than discover it at screening.
What we do not ship, and what is quoted separately
Handling cable and site power
Cable drums
A drum is heavy, round and permanently looking for an excuse to move. Most cable that arrives damaged was damaged in handling, so this is where we are fussiest.
Upright, always. Drums travel standing on their flanges, never laid flat on one side. A drum on its side crushes the lower cable turns against the flange and distorts the drum, and the damage is invisible until somebody tries to pull the cable.
Chocked and lashed as a unit. Wedges on both sides so there is no roll at all, then webbing over the drum. A drum that is only strapped down can still rotate inside the strap on a bad road.
Lifted by the centre, never under the flange. A bar or spindle through the drum centre, or a proper drum handler. Forks jammed under a flange split it, and a split flange means the cable has to be transferred before it can be used.
Rolled only in the direction marked on the flange. Rolling the other way slackens the winding and can leave the cable loose on the drum. On rough ground we lift instead of rolling, even when rolling looks quicker.
Flanges and ends protected. Flange edges battened where they will take knocks, and both cable ends capped and sealed so moisture cannot track into the cable. An unsealed end on a fibre drum can write off a length that looks perfectly fine from outside.
Bend radius respected. Fibre has a minimum bend radius and it does not forgive. No drum comes off a tail lift under gravity because somebody was in a hurry.
Checked against the paperwork at both ends. Every drum carries a number, a cable length and a batch. We record them at loading and again at the site, because a rollout that finds out at splicing time that drum 7 is 200 metres short of the schedule has lost a day it did not have.
Offloaded onto something firm. We ask in advance what is at the site. Where there is no forklift, drums come off on a ramp or by winch onto a hard level surface, chocked immediately. A drum parked on soft ground will sink, lean and eventually go over.
Part used drums come back properly. Where a drum is returned with cable still on it, the remaining cable is secured to the drum and the end sealed again, so the next crew gets something usable rather than a bird's nest.
Generators travel with fluids secured, batteries disconnected, and the canopy protected. Lifting points are marked on the outside so nobody improvises with a sling.
Electronics are crated with internal bracing and moisture barriers, antistatic bagged where it matters, and where we crate in solid wood the packaging is debarked, heat treated and marked to the international standard so it is not rejected at the border.
Everything is photographed before the crate closes and after it arrives.
Air freight when a site is down
Most rollout cargo travels by road, because tower steel, cable drums and generators are heavy and planned. But a live site that has lost a radio, a card, a rectifier module or a microwave unit is a different problem, and the revenue it is not earning dwarfs the freight difference.
We handle air freight for time sensitive consignments. Send the part number or a photograph of the faulty unit and we will move it by air, clear it and get it to the site.
Air shortens the journey, not the clearance, so if the equipment needs type approval or certification that requirement still applies. We will tell you which applies to your part before you book rather than after it lands.
Nairobi to Juba air freight · Spare parts service
Rollouts arrive in phases
A network build is not one shipment. It is a sequence, and the cost of getting the sequence wrong is a crew standing around.
- Tell us the site list and the build order and we will plan deliveries against it
- One consignment can be split across several sites, with a separate delivery note for each
- Cable, power and electronics do not all want the same vehicle, and sometimes it is cheaper to split them than to force one load
- Where a site is not accessible yet, we can hold and release rather than deliver into mud
What it costs
Our rates are published in tables rather than quoted on request, so you can price a movement before you talk to anyone.
| Route | Container size | Cargo origin | FCL transport rate | Currency | Transit time | Container handling conditions | Port charges | Customs brokerage | Deposit & detention | Empty return | Rate validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mombasa to Juba | 20ft | Kenyan export | Contact us for current rates | USD | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | |
| Mombasa to Juba | 20ft | International transit | Contact us for current rates | USD | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | |
| Mombasa to Juba | 40ft | Kenyan export | Contact us for current rates | USD | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | |
| Mombasa to Juba | 40ft | International transit | Contact us for current rates | USD | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us |
| Route | Truck capacity | FTL rate | Minimum charge | Transit time | Pickup & delivery terms | Customs | Rate validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nairobi to Juba | Up to 10 tonnes (rigid truck) | Contact us for current rates | Contact us for current rates | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | |
| Nairobi to Juba | Up to 28 tonnes (trailer) | Contact us for current rates | Contact us for current rates | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | |
| Nairobi to Juba | 1 x 40ft flatbed / high sided trailer | Contact us for current rates | Contact us for current rates | Confirm with us | Confirm with us | Confirm with us |
Cable drums, generators and anything oversized are quoted per shipment, because the vehicle and the handling drive the price more than the weight does. Send dimensions, weights and the site list and we will give you a real figure.
Get a quotation
Tell us what you are shipping
Send us the cargo description, weight or volume, and the pickup and delivery addresses. We reply with a written rate, the transit time and the documents you will need.
First time importing? We will do the paperwork
Plenty of contractors win a build before they have ever imported anything, and there is no reason they should know how. You do not need to understand HS classification, transit bonds or form C17.
Send us: what the equipment is, where it is coming from, the site list, and the supplier's invoice and packing list when you have them.
We handle: classification and the duty position, the export or transit declaration and bond, checking what certification the equipment needs and flagging it while there is still time, port clearance, the road movement, the South Sudanese entry, delivery to each site, and the evidence pack afterwards.
And on request, the type approval application itself, prepared, lodged and followed up with the Authority while the freight is being arranged.
Related
- Solar panels, inverters and batteries
- Machinery and heavy equipment
- Spare parts
- Mombasa to Juba container transport
- What we do not ship
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can you deliver to a tower site, not just to Juba?
Yes, that is the point of the service. We deliver to the tower base, the exchange, the data centre or the camp, including sites around Kapoeta, Torit, Bor, Bentiu, Malakal, Rumbek, Wau, Aweil, Yambio and Yei. What changes through the year is the route, the vehicle and the lead time, not whether we can get there. Tell us whether the site has offloading equipment.
What proof of delivery do we get?
A signed delivery note naming who received it, photographs taken at the site showing the cargo and its condition, video of the offload where you want it, and the piece count checked against the packing list so a short delivery is caught at the gate. If you are invoicing a client or reporting to a lender, that pack is usually what releases the payment.
Does telecoms equipment need approval before we import it?
Communications and radio equipment generally needs type approval from the National Communication Authority before it can be imported, sold or used in South Sudan. Raise it with us at quotation stage, because the approval attaches to the equipment and has to be dealt with before the shipment rather than after it lands.
Can you apply for type approval on our behalf?
Yes, on request. We will collect the technical file from your supplier, put the application together, lodge it with the Authority and follow it up until a decision comes back, running alongside the freight rather than after it. It is a separate piece of work rather than part of a freight rate, so ask early and we will quote it with the shipment. The Authority grants the approval, not us, so we will not promise you an outcome or a date.
Can you ship site batteries?
Tell us what they are and we will tell you how they can travel. Batteries are regulated for transport whatever the invoice calls them, including the cells inside a rectifier cabinet and anything shipped with a battery installed. They sit outside the published rates and are quoted separately. An undeclared battery can get a whole consolidated load offloaded.
How do you handle fibre drums?
Upright on their flanges and never laid flat, wedged both sides so there is no roll at all, then webbed over. Lifted by a bar through the drum centre rather than by forks under a flange, which splits it. Rolled only in the direction marked on the flange, because the other way slackens the winding. Flange edges battened, both cable ends capped against moisture, and drum numbers and lengths checked against the paperwork at loading and again at the site.
We are building out several sites. Can deliveries be phased?
Yes. Send the site list and the build order and we will plan deliveries against it. One consignment can be split across several sites with a separate signed delivery note for each, and where a site is not accessible yet we can hold and release rather than deliver into mud.
Before you rely on this page
This page is published as general guidance for people shipping cargo to South Sudan. It is not legal advice and it isn't customs advice. Duty rates, fees, permits and procedures are set by the authorities named above and they change. South Sudan sets its tax and duty rates in an annual Financial Act, so what applies to your goods depends on the date they are entered.
We don't publish duty rates, penalty amounts or clearance fees that we cannot tie to a current official source. Where a figure matters to your costing, confirm it with the relevant authority or ask us to check it for your specific goods and HS code before you ship.