It only looks dead
Fixed-line telecommunication is not dying. It only looks dead. Telkom, a leading South African telecom, is ramping up its investment in new infrastructure in an effort to fend off new rivals and take back some of the market share it has lost to the mobile operators. "It would be foolhardy for anyone to think we are sitting here waiting to die," says CTO Thami Msimango "The fight is on." Telkom will award a number of big tenders in the next few weeks as it accelerates its infrastructure spend. The company plans to fork out more than R30 billion in the coming five years, with much of that being spent in the next 24 months, as it prepares to meet the second network operator head-on and deal with competition from the cellular companies, especially in broadband. Report