Recent media reports hinted at a possible ADSL 2+ service from Telkom. ADSL 2+ makes speeds of up to 24 Mbps possible when customers are close enough to the exchange.

Telkom is installing ADSL2+ enabled DSLAMs, but that does not necessarily mean that they will be launching an ADSL 2+ service.

“ADSL 2+ is not a product but a technological evolution and all new DSLAMs deployed will be ADSL 2+ enabled. The ADSL 2+ DSLAM need to work with an ADSL 2+ modem on the customer side. The latest modems Telkom will start to deploy will be ADSL 2+ capable,” Telkom said.

“ADSL 2+ will therefore help to provide more resilient services allowing more customers to get ADSL over longer distances and with higher possible speed. It should be noted that Telkom will not launch ADSL2+ as a service,” Telkom pointed out.

This will come as a disappointment to many Telkom ADSL customers who were looking forward to matching their international counterparts in the speed department.

WiMax on the horizon

The hype surrounding WiMax does not appear to be dying down, which is understandable when considering SA’s limited copper line infrastructure. Telkom is one of the frontrunners on the WiMax front.

Many providers and even municipalities are trialing WiMax, but no commercial products have been launched yet. Telkom is also not giving away any trade secrets when it comes to their true WiMax plans.

“Telkom is currently trialing a WiMAX offering and plans for its implementation will be communicated once the trials are completed,” Telkom said.

This does not give consumers a clear idea as to what to expect from Telkom, and the telecoms provider may not want to show its cards before Neotel’s launch of corporate and residential telecoms services.

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