Telkom’s fixed-line network is living on borrowed time. Though the company continues to invest in fibre-to-the-home broadband, the number of fixed lines in service fell by almost a quarter year on year in the six months to end-September 2019.

The company said the number of fixed-access lines has fallen below two million for the first time, a slump of 23% compared to September 2018, while the number of fixed broadband subscribers (including fibre) fell by 19.8% to 781 000.

Telkom has begun phasing out its legacy copper network and associated digital subscriber line technology in favour of fibre and 4G/LTE solutions. It said it has migrated more than 300 000 customers from copper-based services to fibre and LTE in the past 18 months.

“Customers have responded positively to the new propositions, which provide better value and more reliable customer experience,” Telkom said.

Despite the hefty decline in fixed lines, fixed broadband data volumes continued to rise — up 14.2% to 558 petabytes.

Telkom said it “rationalised” its investment in fibre to the home in the latest reporting period to focus on areas showing a propensity for higher connectivity rates. “Our FTTH connectivity rate improved to 42.6%, the highest in the market.” — (c) 2019 NewsCentral Media