Telkom and Openserve are going to part ways. The former confirmed the details in a Q1 SENS announcement, where the Telkom Group has approved the legal and structural separation of Openserve that will take effect as of 1st September 2022.
Moving forward one of SA’s largest wholesale network infrastructure providers will be operating with greater independence from Telkom.
“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,” noted Serame Taukobong, Telkom Group CEO, in a press release sent to Hypertext.
“Openserve follows suit as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Telkom Group, which will promote and drive autonomous ability and market visibility,” the CEO added.
One such example of this autonomy is Openserve being 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.
As for other areas of focus the company has stated that it will continue to drive growth in fibre connectivity to the home (FTTH) and is positioning its network to assist more communities across South Africa.
“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,” emphasises Openserve CEO, Althon Beukes.
“Since the inception of Openserve in 2015, we have made significant strides in laying the foundation for our future success, by focusing on launching innovative products & services, providing superior interactions through our frontline staff and leveraging our innovative digital channels to create a differentiated customer experience,” concluded Beukes.
While the nature of the relationship between Telkom and Openserve is changing as of 1st September, key to all this is how customers will experience service. As long as there be no decline in this regard, that is ultimately what matters.
