Johannesburg - South Africa’s leading communications services provider, Telkom officially unveiled its redesigned wholesale and networks division, Openserve which will increase broadband access in the country.
Speaking at the official launch also attended by Communications Minister Faith Muthambi, Telkom Group CEO, Sipho Maseko said Openserve is formed as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to strengthen customer focus through a more flexible and agile operating model.
Openserve is Telkom’s redesigned wholesale partner and is a division of the Telkom Group. It is South Africa’s largest telecommunications infrastructure provider with the biggest broadband network.
Maseko said the separation heralds a new era in the Telkom Group as it prepares to welcome a more open access environment and all the opportunities it offers.
“As a key driver of socio-economic development, Openserve will enable more choice, increased innovation and greater service-provider competition.
“The result will be increased broadband access. Telkom intends to play a substantial role in lowering the barrier to entry for new players and to increase the competitiveness of smaller players,” he said.
According to Maseko the move is also in line with Telkom’s turnaround strategy to separate its wholesale and retail divisions to facilitate greater focus, accountability and most importantly, customer-centricity.
He said that while this would not be easy, Telkom will put in the hard work needed to get there.
“The landscape of telecommunication in our country and around the world has changed and we are responding to this change with this clear and decisive action.
“Over the past two years, our strategy has delivered positive results, but it is not yet complete. We have tackled inefficiency, complexity and high costs and our quest to improve our customer experience remains a primary focus.
“However, to fundamentally change the way we do business, while also working to take up a meaningful and impactful role in an increasingly open-access environment, we have had to review our operating model,” he said.
Maseko said separation is important for Telkom as it facilitates the independence of the consumer division from the wholesale and networks division.
“Through this separation, Telkom will improve its customer focus and establish clearer lines of accountability. As a stand-alone business unit within Telkom, Openserve will be autonomous and will be responsible for its own profit and loss account,” he said.
Minister Muthambi hailed the move. “This is step in the right direction to ensure universal access … Companies like Telkom have a role to play to ensure that the digital divide becomes a thing of the past.”
According to Alphonzo Samuels, the Managing Director for Openserve, the separation signals Telkom’s commitment to a more competitive market and lower prices for consumers.
“Telkom has already begun reducing prices associated with wholesale network infrastructure access. With the launch of Openserve, we want to make a significant impact on the way we provide open access broadband to all South Africans.
“We welcome a more open-access environment and believe that we, as Openserve, can make important headway in helping all South African bridge the digital divide,” he said.-SAnews.gov.za
