A diversity of options makes it more responsive
South African mobile operator Telkom has revealed the secret sauce that makes it 5G service compelling: fixed wireless access (FWA) blended with Huawei hardware and software. However, its future as an operator remains a mystery as two potential merger talks, with Rain and MTN, are still possibilities. It should not be overlooked that 4G is still a strong foundation for most customer conversations, according to Lunga Siyo, Telkom’s CEO of Consumer and Business service. Though the 5G network capacity has been slowly added in the past two years preparation it is still just a supplement the company’s existing telecom ecosystem, said Siyo.
Telkom is initially going to concentrate on providing 5G Fixed Wireless Access to provide broadband continuity. When the demand for 5G services builds throughout South Africa, Telkom will be able to react accordingly, supplement this with suitable mobile propositions. Fow now, the policy is one of all things in moderation. “The 5G network supplements our current ecosystem, offering a diversity of connectivity options and better network responsiveness,” said Siyo.
Telkom’s 5G service was launched through a strategic partnership with Huawei, which is providing Telkom with both equipment and support to manage the 5G rollout. Though Huawei is banned in Europe and the US African nations and telecom service providers have largely continued to embrace Huawei, which provides less expensive equipment than some of its rivals, reported RCR Wireless.
Telkom is a relative late comer to the 5G competition in South Africa. Data-only rival operator Rain kicked off 5G coverage in 2019 and in August Rain owner and billionaire Patrice Motsepe announced that the data service provider had proposed a merger with Telkom. Prior to that, in July the country’s second biggest telecom company MTN said it was in talks with Telkom in a stock or cash-and-shares deal that could create the country’s biggest telecom firm, overtaking their bigger rival Vodacom. MTN and Vodacom, which is majority-owned by international telco Vodafone, both operate 5G voice and data networks.
There is a healthy market up for grabs with 5G subscriber numbers expected to reach 11 million by 2025, according to Africa Analysis. Telkom had expected to enjoy strong growth after the South African government officially auctioned 5G spectrum. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) raised just under a billion Euros/dollars when awarding 5G spectrum licenses to Cell C, Liquid Telecom, MTN South Africa, Rain Networks, Telkom South Africa and Vodacom South Africa. The nation’s 5G will be created in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands.
If Telkom and MTN do ever conclude their merger plans they could create the single largest mobile operator in South Africa, dwarfing Vodacom and creating a de facto duopoly in the country. As reported, Rain is also in talks with Telkom, a merger which would create a stronger rival to MTN and Vodacom, rather than consolidating South Africa’s mobile business among two dominant mobile operators.