Telkom has announced it is spinning off its wholesale division as a separate business with its own brand identity. The new business will be called Openserve and is meant to serve not only Telkom but the entire telecommunications market in an open and transparent manner.
At a launch event in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko said the decision to separate the wholesale business would have a big impact on South Africa’s economy and would help to bridge the digital divide.
“Through this separation, we remove a critical stumbling block on our path to success,” Maseko said.
In a statement, Telkom described Openserve as a “distinct business unit within the Telkom group, which is formed as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to strengthen customer focus through a more flexible and agile operating model”.
“The separation heralds a new era in the Telkom group as it prepares to welcome a more open-access environment and all the opportunities it offers. This move is also in line with Telkom’s turnaround strategy to separate its wholesale and retail divisions to facilitate greater focus, accountability and most importantly, customer centricity,” the company said.
Maseko said separation is important for Telkom as it facilitates the independence of the consumer division from the wholesale and networks division.
“Through this separation, Telkom will improve its customer focus and establish clearer lines of accountability. As a standalone business unit within Telkom, Openserve will be autonomous and will be responsible for its own profit and loss account.”
Openserve MD Alphonzo Samuels said the separation signals a commitment to lower prices for consumers. “Telkom has already begun reducing prices associated with wholesale network infrastructure access. With the launch of Openserve, we want to make a significant impact on the way we provide open-access broadband to all South Africans.”
Telkom said Openserve will enable more choice and innovation as well as greater service provider competition. “The result will be increased broadband access,” it said. “Telkom intends to play a substantial role in lowering the barrier to entry for new players and to increase the competitiveness of smaller players.” — (c) 2015 NewsCentral Media
