Telkom is working towards launching fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services commercially before the end of the year, says the telco.
This comes as SA is seeing increased efforts by the country's mobile operators to win over high-end consumer and business markets, where demand for high-speed broadband is rapidly growing.
Telkom's FTTH trial, comprising the Up to 100Mbps Resell DSL and Fibre Access Line, has commenced in selected areas, including the upmarket suburbs of Houghton, in Johannesburg; Celtisdal, in Centurion; Loevenstein, in the Western Cape; and Sea Point, in Cape Town.
Most areas in SA, says Telkom, currently have ADSL up to 10Mbps. "We have seen exponential increase in broadband usage [and] that is why we are investing in upgrading our network to enable more exchanges to provide super-fast broadband."
Telkom Wholesale has invited Internet service providers to nominate eligible customers to participate in the FTTH trial. Of those customers who have opted to participate in the trial, says the company, a number have already been upgraded to up to its 100Mbps Resell DSL trial service. "Telkom is continuing the upgrading of further customers as part of the trial process."
The company has also provided an interest register on its Web site for all customers to record their interest for future fibre services and products.
Telkom says information gleaned from the trial and interest register will inform the pricing and availability of its FTTH products and services.
MTN, Vodacom
Last week, MTN said it would roll out "aggressive deployment" of FTTH to high-density urban areas, like upmarket gated communities, boomed-off suburbs and high-rise buildings. The official commercial launch for the product in these areas is set for 1 June, with "advanced discussions" under way with several additional residential sites.
While Vodacom could not provide details of its FTTH plans last week, CEO Shameel Joosub in October alluded to increased activity in the space, saying the company was going to "start building fibre to the home, fibre to the business and so on, and really start trying to play a bigger role in the fixed space".
Both Vodacom and MTN focused heavily on small to medium enterprises last year, with Vodacom now close to concluding exclusive buyout talks with fixed-line business operator Neotel.
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