Telkom teams up with Vumatel to expand fibre footprint

In areas where Telkom connectivity is lacking, Vumatel has often stepped in to deliver the goods. Now, the fixed-line incumbent has announced a rather surprising partnership with the upstart service provider.

Telkom’s Openserve has announced that it would be “leveraging” Vumatel’s open-access fibre network to launch products in over 20 new suburbs in Gauteng.

Vumatel has made a name for itself by launching so-called fibrehoods, offering connectivity in selected suburbs across Johannesburg and Cape Town.

“The fibre industry is highly competitive and we have seen an accelerated rollout of fibre networks across the country. While Openserve holds the lion share of the national fibre footprint — there are currently areas not covered by their fibre network. To this end, it makes commercial sense to leverage the networks of other open access fibre network providers to ensure that our customers in these areas can be served immediately,” explained Telkom retail CEO Attila Vitai in a press statement.

“Through Vumatel’s fibre network we will offer our products and services to our customers in over 21 new suburbs across Gauteng. This is a clear demonstration of Telkom’s commitment to meeting the demands of our customers in new and innovative ways.”

Vitai said that Telkom is considering partnerships with other service providers to extend its reach.

Over 81 000 homes have access to Telkom’s fibre offering, the company said. It added that it was still targeting one million homes by 2018.

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