Telkom network freeze concerns

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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Telkom has recently entered into its FIFA World Cup “network freeze period” which will continue until 16 July.  This development raised concerns among consumers and service providers about potential poor service levels from Telkom.

One ADSL service provider warned their subscribers that “All line faults and Telkom orders that are processed before 05 May 2010 will take longer than its normal activation period due to Telkom freezing period for the 2010 World cup.”

Telkom has however calmed fears that consumers and businesses will be sidelined, saying that it will not affect its day-to-day operations.

“The so-called ‘network freeze period’ is an industry best practice that is usually observed during peak retail periods. Telkom has previously implemented similar measures during FIFA Confederations Cup and other major events that were held in South Africa,” said Bashier Sallie, Telkom’s Senior Managing Executive for Wholesale and Networks.

According to Sallie the ‘network freeze’ period of heightened protection of Telkom’s core transmission network is implemented to ensure that special events, such as the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup, is delivered across a network architecture that is secure, stable and resilient.

“In essence, no planned maintenance or upgrades will occur during the predefined time period. Importantly, however, all normal service restoration and service installations will continue as usual,” said Sallie.

“Telkom anticipates no disruption to our customers while ensuring that, as a national champion and a key service provider to FIFA, we deliver a flawless 2010 FIFA World Cup to the world.”

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