Telkom has welcomed the announcement by President Jacob Zuma that government has decided to appoint the company as the “lead agency” to assist with the roll-out of broadband in underserviced parts of South Africa.
Zuma revealed the decision in his state-of-the-nation speech in parliament on Thursday evening. Both Telkom and the state-owned Broadband Infraco have been lobbying to run the project.
But little detail is available yet about the roll-out plan, such as where infrastructure will be deployed, which technologies will be used, how it will be funded and how much it will cost.
In written response to a query from TechCentral, Telkom welcomed the announcement of the decision to appoint it as “South Africa’s national broadband champion”.
“We believe that our experience, extensive fibre network and superior technical capabilities will be leveraged to fast-track the implementation of an economically viable and effective national broadband solution,” it said.
“Sustainable delivery of coverage to all will require the optimisation of the entire industry’s investment. As the national broadband champion, Telkom will drive collaboration between government and industry to create a truly connected digital nation,” it added. — (c) 2015 NewsCentral Media