Telkom announced it would use the open-access fibre network of Vumatel to provide its products in 21 new suburbs in Gauteng, South Africa. The intention is that similar deals will be done with independent providers nationwide and possibly for wi-fi access.
Telkom’s decision to partner with Vumatel was announced on Monday and marked a dramatic change in direction for the 39 percent state-owned company and its wholesale network provider,
The telecoms company’s unbundling of its wholesale and networks division into the new, autonomous
Telkom has not commented on specifics of further deals; it said its partnership with Vumatel would help it reach more consumers in more areas across South Africa.
Telkom already has the most extensive fibre network footprint in the country with access to more than 81, 000 homes.
"The fibre industry is highly competitive, and we have seen an accelerated rollout of fibre networks across the country. While
Vumatel CEO Niel Schoeman said, "We welcome Telkom Retail as a new service provider on the Vumatel network and believe their depth of experience in this industry will certainly benefit the consumer. Vumatel’s robust fibre network will add desirability to Telkom’s new fibre product and service range, and we look forward to providing, even more,
"In future, Telkom will consider the commercial viability of dealing with other network infrastructure providers to reach even more areas across South Africa with our high-speed fibre offerings," said
"Leveraging infrastructure from various open access network providers is a step change in how we previously procured our network requirements and is consistent with the ideals of functional separation between Telkom’s wholesale and retail business units. Telkom is moving into an era of growth and we believe this partnership is a nature next step on that journey," he said.