Telkom South Africa

Telkom Partners with YahClick to Expand Access to Satellite Connectivity

Telkom Consumer and YahClick have signed an agreement which enables individual and business consumers to make “high-quality” voice calls and access broadband data packages from anywhere in South Africa using only a satellite connection. For Phase 1, Telkom will commence with migrating a number of identified consumer customers first and launch to new customers in early 2021. This is expected to significantly expand access to affordable connectivity in rural areas nationally without access to fibre. YahClick Satellite Services will deliver the Telkom data and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) packages through its Satellite Platforms, using Hughes Gateway and Ground Segment technology. “This agreement enables us to seamlessly connect our customers nationwide. Our data service with YahClick ...

South Africans can Pay for Apple Services with Telkom

Telkom has revealed that its customers will now be able to pay for Apple content and services – like App Store apps, Apple Music, Apple TV+, movies on the Apple TV app, Apple Arcade, and iCloud storage – via carrier billing, directly from their mobile phone account. The service will be available to all Telkom customers in South Africa for postpaid and prepaid mobile plans. Using the service is simple. Telkom customers use a new or existing Apple ID and select “Mobile Phone” as their payment method in account settings on the App Store, in iCloud or within the Apple Music or Apple TV apps from their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or on iTunes from their PC. The new payment option will be configured automatically and immediately allows for one-tap purchasing from any Apple product. Telkom Sout...

Telkom South Africa Introduces Digital Wallet

Telkom has officially launched a mobile payment solution called Telkom Pay Digital Wallet (or Telkom Pay). The platform is expected to allow users to pay others and get paid themselves using their mobile phone through the WhatsApp messaging app; to anyone on their contacts list. It also serves as a cashless Point of Sale (POS) payment option for businesses. “We are launching financial services solutions that cater to everyone and that are easy to access through one’s phone 24/7 at an affordable price for consumers and businesses. Our device insurance has been in the market for a number of years,” says Sibusiso Ngwenya, Managing Executive for Telkom Financial Services. “This year we have successfully launched funeral cover and our foray into payments further deepens our strategic intent to ...

Telkom Unveils Black Friday Contract Deals

Telkom has officially unveiled its Black Friday deals – from 00:01 on 27 November 2020, available online up until midnight on 4 December 2020. In keeping up with the times and customer needs, Telkom is focusing on two areas this year: 1) accommodating those who’ve become more comfortable with online shopping and 2) big savings on data considering the unprecedented year of lockdown and resultant ever-evolving consumer behaviour and habits. Here’s a closer look at Telkom’s Black Friday contract deals: Device Term FreeMe 800MB FreeMe 1.5GB FreeMe 3GB FreeMe 6GB FreeMe 11.5GB FreeMe 28GB Minutes DATA Notes   Samsung Galaxy A11 24 R 179 R 229         100 Min x 24 10GB x 3 All Channels Huawei Y6p + Watch 24 R 249 R 299 R 349 R 449 R 549 R 849 100 Min x 24 10GB x 3 Call C...

Telkom Reports 19% Increase in Mobile Subscribers

Telkom South Africa has revealed its interim results for the six months ending 30 September 2020. The telco was driven by a 19% increase in mobile subscribers – reaching 13.7 million – to claim the position of South Africa’s third mobile operator. Telkom delivered solid EBITDA growth despite a slight revenue decrease of 0.4% to R21.4 billion in the face of difficult trading conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Telkom’s decision to invest in infrastructure ahead of demand enabled us to meet the surge in demand and weather the acceleration of the decline in fixed voice revenue during the national lockdown,” says Sipho Maseko, Telkom Group CEO. Telkom Mobile expanded margin by 13.2 ptts to 29.9%, optimised direct cost to revenue ratio from 53% in the prior period to 38% and more t...

Telkom and Frogfoot Partner to Increase Fibre-to-the-Home Coverage

Telkom has chosen Frogfoot to be its third party fibre network operator as of 2 November 2020. The Fibre-To-The Home (FTTH) provider has an expansive fibre footprint in South Africa with more than 220 000 homes passed. “We are proud of this collaboration with a credible fibre provider that has over 15 years’ experience in the telecoms industry,” says Gugu Mthembu, Executive: Brand and Product Segments at Telkom. “The partnership will widen our reach in the areas where OpenServe fibre currently does not exist, meaning Telkom’s competitive offerings will now become available to customers we couldn’t reach previously. However, we will not be leaving behind our existing customers with services running over the copper infrastructure within the Frogfoot footprint.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_4...

Vodacom and Rain Partnership Constitutes a Merger, According to Telkom

Telkom has approached the Competition Tribunal to declare the suite of spectrum arrangements between Vodacom and Rain as a merger – something that it believes should have been notifiable in terms of the Competition Act. The Telco says that the merger is notifiable because “the multiple agreements between Vodacom and Rain grant Vodacom use and control over the deployment of Rain’s spectrum, including the planning, rollout, maintenance and service of its radio access network”. According to Telkom’s Group Executive for Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations, Siyabonga Mahlangu, Vodacom’s ability to control Rain’s spectrum entrenches its position as a dominant player in a highly concentrated market. “It is important that the effects of spectrum arrangements on competition are scrutin...

Telkom to Launch Local Streaming Platform

Telkom is expected to launch a new streaming platform called TelkomONE in November 2020. The video service will host a variety of local South Africa content including music, education and series. “TelkomONE is a proudly local and South African service and naturally, we want to host and showcase outstanding content by content producers from our very own shores, including filmmakers, videographers, writers and directors on the platform,” says Wanda Mkhize, Executive of Smart Home & Content at Telkom. TelkomONE will be available on Web, App and Streaming Box and comes in daily, weekly and monthly subscription packages over and above a free section with a wide range of TV channels available to customers from most major networks. Mkhize goes on to say that the telco is looking for fresh cre...

Telkom takes on eCommerce Partnership with Takealot

Image sourced from Bandwidth Blog Telkom has announced that a number of its products would now be available from Takealot.com. The companies believe that this new partnership will bring superior service and convenience to new and already existing Telkom customers. “This partnership with Takealot.com brings together a vision centred around one important stakeholder, the customer. The connectivity of our customers from the comfort of their homes during this pandemic has been our primary focus and with Takealot’s innovative e-commerce platform and success in customer service, we will leave no man behind. Our strategic partnership is sure to add much-needed comfort and value to our customers,” says Gugu Mthembu, Executive of Brand & Product Segments at Telkom. “Selected Telkom Prepaid...

Telkom SA Signs Roaming Agreement with Telenor

Image sourced from Bandwidth Blog Telkom South Africa and Telenor have announced the signing of a three and a half year Managed Roaming agreement that will enable Telkom to improve the roaming retail offering to its end users. Through this agreement, Telenor will be responsible for the full end-to-end wholesale roaming process for Telkom. Meanwhile, Telkom will be able to utilize the Telenor wholesale roaming group platform and leverage on the group scale in terms of cost and revenue. “We have a long-standing and important relationship with Telenor. Their extensive roaming coverage combined with the vast experience and competence is significant in providing our end users with the desired roaming experience,” says Althon Beukes, CEO of Telkom’s Wholesale division, Openserve. “Partnering wit...

Telkom Makes Changes to Board of Directors

Image sourced from Bandwidth Blog Telkom has made two changes to its board of directors – the appointment of Alphonzo Samuels as a non-executive director with effect from 1 January 2021, as well as Hemmanth (Herman) Singh as an independent non-executive director with effect from 25 September 2020. This comes after the telco revealed that Santie Botha and Khanyisile Kweyama, both independent non-executive directors, have made the decision to retire, with effect from 25 September 2020 and 31 December 2020 respectively. Samuels holds a Bachelor of Technology degree from UNISA and is said to be a seasoned executive with more than 35 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry. He also completed an Executive Development Program and a Program for Enterprise Leadership. He is well-positi...

Telkom to Transition Customers from Copper-based Internet to Fibre

Image sourced from My Broadband Telkom has announced that it is transitioning its South African customers from copper-based internet to new-generation fibre technology in all fibre-ready regions. The telecommunications provider says that it is currently hard at work upgrading its customers from copper ADSL internet to fibre-based internet. This migration applies to all customers residing in fibre-ready regions around the country where the current DSL infrastructure overlaps with the FTTH footprint. Telkom notes that fibre promises a significant improvement in users’ connectivity experience and assures customers that they will receive the support that they need to undergo the upgrade with minimal stress and disruption. “With technology advancing so rapidly, we want to help keep our customer...