|
|
|
CONVERGENCE IN A
CUSTOMER-CENTRIC ERA
|
Telkom is in the midst of a renaissance, driven by
convergence, according to Godfrey Ntoele.
 South
Africa's incumbent network operator, Telkom, is in the midst of
a transformation being driven by a global expansion strategy and
the demands of converging connectivity technologies.
Godfrey Ntoele, group executive of the NSMO division at Telkom
SA describes Telkom's transformation as "a renaissance".
"A rebirth of sorts is going on and a strategy leads the
structure," he said, speaking at SITA's GovTech 2009 conference
yesterday.
"Telkom is refocusing to maintain its leadership position in
South Africa, while growing a strong footprint on the
continent," he added.
Ntoele said that, as an African player, Telkom will maintain
South Africa as a base, but has a strategy to leverage
international cable projects and its investments in Africa to
grow into the whole continent.
"We are part of a continuous process. When we do this in
building blocks, it may be misunderstood," he warned.
"On the one hand, you must look at the way you behave in the
context of the broader industry, but the change is almost always
driven by a changing society and environment."
Ntoele said that the Telkom Group is transforming to ensure
clearer accountability and better organisational alignment with
an underlying strategy.
"The group will be equipped for our international expansion and
focus on convergence in the forms of fixed-mobile convergence
(FMC) and ICT," he said.
He added that Telkom will be ready for increased competition by
being more customer-centric and cost-efficient. It will also be
compliant with regulatory requirements, for example, splitting
wholesale from retail.
According to Ntoele, Telkom's network of the future will focus
on logical network layers focused on service diversification.
He said, "Today we realise that a telephone line without
Internet access is of no use. Customer demand will always
precede legislation."
Ntoele added that Telkom takes cognisance of what customers in
South Africa wish to use their Internet connectivity for, and
will mould its strategy based on what South Africans need.
He noted that prices will come down and suggested that South
Africans should expect much consolidation in African
telecommunications, as smaller operators are acquired by bigger
companies.
Ntoele also made mention of 2010 and Telkom's involvement in
providing connectivity to the event, which requires 40Gbps of
bandwidth for both downloads and uploads into each stadium. He
said that a dry-run of Telkom's capabilities in this regard took
place at four stadiums during the 2009 Confederations Cup.
The convergence that acts as a driving force behind the progress
of telecommunications is vital to Telkom's transformation.
Ntoele said that Telkom is moving towards being a one-stop
solution provider, as especially IT and telecommunications
converge.
"Telkom will improve efficiencies through shared resources," he
said.
He added that Telkom will partner with venture capital partners
and create innovative products and services, while looking at
outsourcing growth opportunities in its data centre services
division.
Ntoele singled out Telkom's move to provide mobile broadband in
particular, with its Do 3G product.
"Telkom's Do 3G services provide high speed Internet access," he
said.
"It uses the latest HSDPA and HSUPA wireless network support
devices capable of 7.2Mbps high-speed downlink packet access and
2.4Mbps high-speed uplink packet access," he continued.
"This is provided with competitively priced Wireless Internet
bundles ranging from 500MB to 10GB. Our bundle rates are
significantly lower than those of competitors and provide for a
single rate across all plans."
As Telkom moves into the future, Ntoele promised that the
company will ensure that it keeps customer demand front-of-mind
and that it meets its strategy objectives to keep South Africa
connected.
|
|
|
|
