Is Telkom really doing its bit to bring internet access to the people?

27 Oct

Telkom has certainly come under the spotlight in recent years, as both the business and private sectors try to ascertain if the company is really doing its bit when it comes to economic development in South Africa. The fact remains, Telkom is working hard to bring internet access and Wi-Fi to the community and private homes not only in the cities and business areas, but also in the rural areas, where the digital divide is undeniable.

Telkom’s recent announcement to have 1m fibre connections by 2018 is just another way that the company is proving to the market just how serious it is about developing South Africa, in terms of reducing communication costs and bringing better broadband and telecommunications services and systems to all areas.

Fibre rollout

Just how far along is Telkom with its plans for 1m fibre connections? As of the end of August 2015, Telkom announced that 38 000 homes had been given access to fibre service and a further 1 317 LTE sites had been added to the network. The company aims at doubling this figure to around 70 000 homes before the end of December 2015 and all eyes are already on Telkom as we wait to see if they will indeed achieve this impressive goal.

Sipho Maseko, CEO of Telkom, stated at Southern African Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference, “”We have set ourselves the objective of contributing to transforming the South African economy. South Africa is a developing democracy. We want to accelerate this development.” Many questions have already been raised after the company’s potential to become an open-access operator. It has since been confirmed in September that the company will open copper access at 200 exchanges on a trial basis. The results of this trial will dictate Telkom’s final decision and commitment to open access services.

Bridging the digital gap

Telkom hopes to encourage mobile operators to assist them in their mission to bridge the digital divide currently being experienced in South Africa. Maseko said “if we are to overcome the access deficit, and in light of the mobile revolution and the benefits this has engendered, South Africa needs to see wholesale access to the mobile local loop and active sharing of the radio access network. This is an imperative and an important precursor for democratising broadband,” and many mobile operators are joining in as a result.

From a business perspective fibre connectivity has some serious benefits and if Telkom fulfils its commitment on delivery you can expect:

  • Better Speed
  • Heightened Security
  • Private Connectivity
  • Increased Bandwidth
  • No interference

With this in mind what do you think of Telkom’s commitment to this particular project? We would love to hear your thoughts!

Internet Access

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