By Siyanda Mthethwa
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African telecommunications firm Telkom is in commercial negotiations with low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite providers to extend connectivity to rural areas and support emergency services, group CEO Serame Taukobong said on Tuesday.
Competition among telecom operators in South Africa is intensifying as they race to provide coverage beyond traditional and fibre markets.
“We already had partnerships with such providers and we’ll continue to engage and re-engage those partnerships as well,” Telkom’s Taukobong told Reuters. “So yes, commercial negotiations are currently underway.”
He said the partnerships complement Telkom’s fibre network in areas with poor infrastructure and no fibre footprint, particularly in rural regions and for emergency services.
Vodacom Group, one of Telkom’s main competitors alongside MTN Group, announced an agreement last week with Elon Musk’s Starlink to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband internet for businesses across Africa.
Earlier, Telkom reported a 16.4% rise in headline earnings per share to 305.6 cents for the six months ended September 30, from 191.5 cents a year earlier.
The firm’s group revenue climbed 3.4% to 22.1 billion rand ($1.28 billion), boosted by mobile data revenue growth of 10.3% and fibre-related data revenue growth of 12.3%.
Data revenue increased by 7.9%, contributing a 59.1% share to total revenue. The group also delivered 12 consecutive quarters of leading service revenue, driven by its data-led strategy.
Telkom did not declare interim dividends.
($1 = 17.2019 rand)
(Reporting by Siyanda Mthethwa; Editing by Jamie Freed, Tom Hogue and Jan Harvey)
