Telkom joins up with AT&T

By Candice Jones for Telkom

Johannesburg, 15 Apr 2009

Telkom and US-based AT&T today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will see the operators collaborate in sub-Saharan Africa.

Speaking at the signing ceremony this afternoon, Telkom CEO Reuben September said: "The MOU will be developed into full contracts at a later stage."

The local telecoms giant explains the crux of the deal would be that New York-listed AT&T would provide services for international customers across Telkom`s networks in Africa.

AT&T and Telkom will begin with marketing, sales and the provisioning of each other`s products for the time being. AT&T will also provide Telkom with access to its global networks.

According to AT&T business solutions CEO Ron Spears, the company has 1 800 global enterprise clients to which it provides services. "Those 1 800 companies want and demand the same provisioning of services in Africa as they do everywhere else. More of our customers are looking to expand their own businesses in sub-Saharan Africa."

The deal has been in the pipeline for 10 to 12 months, and the specifics around which a full contract will be negotiated will take "time and effort", he says.

The idea will be to provide international businesses a local hosting environment that will extend full capabilities to cloud computing. Spears says Telkom`s data centre strategy is its key component to a successful model.

Telkom recently realigned its business to form three units: Telkom SA, to be headed by Nombulelo "Pinky" Maholi; Telkom International, to be headed by Thami Msimango; and its data centre operation, which does not yet have a head.

September says no actual costs or investments have yet been decided; instead financial indications will depend on particular cases in specific regions. According to September, Telkom`s acquisition of MWeb Africa and Africa Online provides it with infrastructure across 35 African countries.

Where it does not have a footprint, Telkom says it has the option to either build or lease infrastructure from other operators.

Spears says that together AT&T and Telkom will provide better technology, better applications and better connectivity that he hopes will be a catalyst for further economic growth in the region.