Load shedding impacts Telkom services

Issued by Telkom Business
Pretoria, 04 Nov 2014

Telkom services are being impacted by Eskom's nationwide load shedding schedule. Depending on the duration of load shedding, Telkom may lose some core network elements which can impact customer services.

"The company understands the great inconvenience disconnection of its services brings to its customers and will therefore be on high alert during this period, mobilising all available technicians to work additional hours," says Ms Marna Wilden, Managing Executive of Telkom's Network Centre Operations.

"Our business and operations will also be impacted by load shedding and we hope customers will appreciate that we are doing all we can to maintain services under these trying circumstances," she adds.

Telkom wishes to highlight that, in an instance of power failure ? as a result of load shedding or otherwise ? older models of modems do not have built-in functionality that allows the modem to reset itself.

In these cases customers are required to reset the modem manually once power has returned. This constitutes switching the modem off and on again and possibly rebooting the computer.

It is preferred, in the interest of saving time, that customers attempt this manual reset process prior to engaging Telkom support staff through its call centres. Newer models of modems, such as those currently being distributed by Telkom, do have built-in reset functionality and are likely to return to normal functionality once the power is on again.

However, if disconnection persists, affected customers can reach Telkom to report their problems via four channels:

* Faults can be logged electronically via the Telkom Web site at www.telkom.co.za
* Customers can SMS "SERVICE" and their number to 30591 for quick and easy assistance.
* Telkom's app can be downloaded free on an Apple device and the Android version from the Google Play Store.
* Residential customers can call 10210 for assistance, while business customers can contact 10217.

Ms Wilden advises customers that once they have obtained a reference number after reporting a fault, they do not need to call Telkom again as the company's internal systems will manage all faults and ensure that repairs are completed.

Telkom

Telkom SA ("Telkom") is a full-service telecommunications provider for South Africa. The company offers wholesale, business, residential and payphone customers a wide range of voice and data services and products, in support of the company's mission statement ? seamlessly connecting people to a better life. As of 31 March 2014, Telkom had approximately 3.6 million telephone access lines in service and 475 144 ports connected via MSAN access.

The company had consolidated operating revenue of R32.5 billion and profit after tax of R1 577 million for the year ended 31 March 2014, excluding the net curtailment gain. Total assets amounted to R39.4 billion and equity attributable to the owners of Telkom to R22.8 billion as of 31 March 2014. The group generated normalised free cash flow of R1.2 billion for the year ended 31 March 2014.

The company offers business, residential and payphone customers a wide range of services and products, including:

* fixed-line retail voice services using PSTN (public switched telephone network) lines, including ISDN (integrated services digital network) lines, and the sale of subscription based value-added voice services and calling plans;
* fixed-line customer premises equipment rental and sales services both voice and data needs and these include PABX, computers, routers, modems, telephone handsets and other ancillary equipment;
* interconnection services, including terminating and transiting traffic from South African mobile operators, as well as from international operators and transiting traffic from mobile to international destinations;
* fixed-line data services, including domestic and international data transmission services, such as point-to-point leased lines, ADSL (asymmetrical digital subscriber line) services, packet-based services, managed data networking services and Internet access and related information technology services;
* Data Centre Operations includes e-commerce, application service provider, hosting, data storage, e-mail and security services;
* W-CDMA (wideband code division multiple access), a 3G next-generation network, including fixed voice services, data services and nomadic voice services;
* mobile communication services, including voice services, data services and handset sales through our mobile brand called Telkom Mobile;
* Telkom Mobile is continuously expanding its long-term evolution (LTE) coverage. It is the company's latest generation of mobile network technology that provides superfast mobile wireless broadband with low latency (or buffering) that gives users an unsurpassed experience for their everyday data connectivity needs. It is a step up from 3G offering up to 90Mbps download speed and up to 25Mbps upload speeds - approximately three to four times faster than current 3G speeds. It is an ideal option for use in areas where there is no ADSL infrastructure; and
* convergence is one of our key strategic initiatives in building a sustainable future for Telkom. The company will lead the provision of converged services in South Africa in support of its mission statement: Seamlessly connecting people to a better life.

The Telkom Group consists of Telkom as well as two main subsidiaries, namely Trudon and Swiftnet. Trudon provides several directory service offerings off both physical and electronic platforms and Swiftnet provides a suite of services including traditional connectivity services for point-of sale, managed SIM services and customised wireless and wired virtual private network services.

Telkom is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and has a market capitalisation of approximately R17.5 billion (as at 31 March 2014).

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