Telkom, which will become SA’s fourth mobile network operator when it launches commercial wireless services later this year, will sign a national roaming agreement with MTN, multiple independent sources have said.

The apparent deal means Telkom mobile customers will roam on MTN’s network outside the big urban centres where Telkom hasn’t yet built infrastructure.

MTN has beaten Vodacom to win the deal, according to sources close to both MTN and Telkom. MTN operates both 2G and 3G networks.

It’s not yet clear whether the roaming agreement has been formalised — Vodacom says it hasn’t received notification from Telkom about whether or not it’s won or lost the deal — but well-placed sources say MTN has won the contract.

MTN’s winning the deal is somewhat ironic given that Telkom and Vodacom were tied at the hip for 15 years before Telkom divested of its 50% stake in the mobile operator last year.

MTN has invested about R12bn in network infrastructure in SA in the past two years, especially in extending its 3G footprint, and it has significant spare capacity on its network, according to the company’s MD, Karel Pienaar.

Pienaar said in an interview with TechCentral earlier this week that MTN is keen to share its infrastructure with other operators to reduce costs and maximise efficiencies. However, he says no agreement has been signed with Telkom.

All Telkom spokesman Pynee Chetty will say in response to questions from TechCentral is that the company doesn’t comment on speculation.

The apparent deal between Telkom and MTN is not the first such agreement in SA. Cell C has a long-term contract to roam on Vodacom’s network. Cell C’s network is not as extensive as Vodacom’s, especially in the country’s outlying areas.

Telkom has said it will invest as much as R6bn over the next five years to become SA’s fourth mobile operator.

The company said in a presentation last November that it was at an “inflection point, with growth in traditional fixed-line revenues declining”.

“The majority of global fixed-line incumbents have discovered that a successful operation requires an integrated mobile business. We believe that there is a market opportunity in SA as mobile voice and especially mobile data are still experiencing growth,” Telkom said at the time. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral