Telkom Mobile the future of Telkom: Vitai
“Telkom Mobile is the future of Telkom”, managing director of the rebranded business unit, Attila Vitai, told journalists at a media briefing yesterday (19 March 2013).
According to Vitai, he and many of his colleagues believe that all of Telkom will look like the mobile arm in future, and that Telkom Mobile is the growth engine of the company.
Vitai went on to explain Telkom’s reasoning behind launching the Telkom Mobile brand and incorporating 8ta into it as a “sub-brand”.
The new Telkom Mobile brand is set to launch on 20 March 2013 along with its own suite of products.
Telkom Mobile Products
Vitai didn’t reveal much information about the products Telkom Mobile has planned, saying that he didn’t want to give their competitors advanced warning.
However, when he officially announced Telkom Mobile, he said that the brand will target “high value” customers that use a lot of voice and data.
Vitai was also willing to confirm that there will be offerings for smartphone users that need only a little bit of voice and a lot of data.
When further questioned about specifics, Vitai said that subscribers won’t receive one bill showing their Telkom and Telkom Mobile services together, but that the option of a single bill will happen in future.
Attila Vitai
Branding and perception
Asked whether the rebranding would negatively impact perceptions in the industry and with the regulator, Vitai said that they didn’t believe it would.
Telkom’s retail businesses (such as Telkom Mobile and TelkomInternet) are not meant to receive preferential treatment from Telkom’s wholesale arm, which offers services such as backhaul and international network connectivity.
South Africa’s regulating bodies may be called on to intervene if Telkom is shown to be behaving in an anti-competitive manner.
One might argue that the 8ta brand made a clearer distinction between the retail and wholesale arms of Telkom.
However, Vitai said that Telkom Mobile’s relationship with Telkom Group will remain the same as it was under 8ta.
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