Telkom has denied being an enabler of "digital apartheid". This follows a protest march in Cape Town, on Friday, where Khayelitsha residents vented their frustration at waiting for months for the fixed-line utility to install an Internet line at a local library.
According to Sunday Argus reports, residents charged that Telkom`s monopoly in the fixed-line arena allows it to be an enabler of "digital apartheid" where previously-disadvantaged communities do not receive equal treatment.
Posters at the protest march in Cape Town were reported to include slogans such as "Telkom, raping our country since 1991" and "Telkom se ma se E-POS".
Lulu Letlape, Telkom group executive for corporate communications, today said the area in question within Khayelitsha is not ADSL-enabled.
"However, the company has communicated to the customer its preparedness to roll-out fixed-line services to the area in which the library is situated," said Letlape. "The affected customer has expressed willingness to wait for the roll-out, which will be completed by the end of November 2007.
"Telkom is committed to the accelerated broadband delivery, as well as increasing access for the members of the broader public."
Letlape added that the company would provide broadband services "to all areas where there is sufficient demand".
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