Fibre broadband market forces are becoming increasingly competitive in South Africa, according to Telkom group chief executive officer Sipho Maseko.<\/p>\n
At a Telkom annual results briefing in Johannesburg on Monday morning, Maseko briefly outlined how competition in the local fibre broadband market is heating up.<\/p>\n
Companies such as Vumatel are increasingly targeting suburbs in cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town with fibre to the home (FTTH) product offerings.<\/p>\n
Areas such as Parkhurst and Greenside in Johannesburg have already been provided with fibre broadband from the likes of Vumatel.<\/p>\n
These offerings are independent of Telkom, allowing customers an alternative in terms of fast internet products.<\/p>\n
However, Telkom is also rolling out its own FTTH products in major centres such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.<\/p>\n
But Maseko acknowledged that competition in this space is increasing, with about 25 fibre broadband infrastructure providers in South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it is getting tough out there,\u201d Maseko told attendees. \u201cAs a company we need to make the right response.”<\/p>\n
Maseko also said that globally, players such as search giant Google are also entering the broadband space.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, we\u2019re being attacked from all fronts,\u201d said Maseko.<\/p>\n
He also said it will be \u201cgame on\u201d in the local fibre space in times to come.<\/p>\n
Telkom is targeting 20Mbps, 40Mbps and 100Mbps wholesale fibre broadband offerings in selected areas in SA.<\/p>\n
The company on Monday also reported that it has surpassed the 1 million mark in terms of the number of local ADSL broadband connections in South Africa. ADSL broadband provides slower internet speeds than fibre broadband.<\/p>\n
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