The Telkom Group said yesterday that it would legally and structurally split from Openserve, South Africa’s largest wholesale network infrastructure provider.
The mobile operator said the move would be effective September 1.
Openserve operates Telkom’s national fibre network, and its old copper telephone lines. It has also focused on accelerating its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network to provide open access connectivity to more than 890 000 homes in South Africa.
Telkom Group chief executive Serame Taukobong said: “We have been on a journey to transform and unlock value in the group by separating the operating businesses to become standalone entities, which started with BCX and subsequently Gyro, which now operate as separate legal entities wholly owned by Telkom SOC.
“Openserve follows suit as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Telkom Group, which will promote and drive autonomous ability and market visibility," he said.
Openserve chief executive Althon Beukes said: “This next phase of our journey focuses on unlocking greater value through the legal and structural separation, positioning Openserve to respond to the ever-changing regulatory and competitive environment and enabling us to continue to focus on our growth ambitions.”
Beukes said since the inception of Openserve in 2015, it had made significant strides in laying the foundation for future success.
“This is already evident in the announcement that Openserve will serve as the landing station partner for Google’s extensive Equiano submarine cable system developed to run from western Europe, along the west coast of Africa to South Africa’s facilities in Melkbosstrand in the Western Cape,” he said.
In its latest results released on Tuesday, Telkom said the continued growth trajectory in the fibre market was sustained, with the FTTH connectivity rate of 46.6 percent remaining the highest in the market.
Telkom said Openserve grew its homes passed base by 45.3 percent year-on-year to more than 890 000 and increased the number of homes connected with fibre by 35.2 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, MTN revealed that it wanted to acquire Telkom.
On July 15, both companies said MTN was in early discussions to buy Telkom’s entire issued share capital in exchange for shares or a combination of cash and shares.
In a meeting with journalists yesterday, MTN SA chief executive Charles Molapisi said the negotiations were still in the early stages.
BUSINESS REPORT