{"id":598727,"date":"2025-06-13T14:58:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T12:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=598727"},"modified":"2025-06-13T14:59:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T12:59:18","slug":"first-telkom-mobile-virtual-network-operator-is-near","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/telecoms\/598727-first-telkom-mobile-virtual-network-operator-is-near.html","title":{"rendered":"First Telkom mobile virtual network operator is near"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Telkom has told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications that it is close to onboarding a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The partially state-owned telco operator explained that to meet obligations attached to its radio frequency spectrum licences it must have an MVNO with 51% shareholding by historically disadvantaged groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its presentation to the committee, Telkom said it has submitted its business plan to onboard such an MVNO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are currently engaged in a number of discussions with potential MVNOs and are looking to onboard an MVNO in the not-too-distant future,\u201d said Telkom legal head Nozipho Mngomezulu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mngomezulu\u2019s feedback comes after Telkom announced in March that it signed an agreement<\/a> with a Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE) platform provider to enter the MVNO market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Telkom did not disclose the MVNE\u2019s name but said it had a proven track record in the South African market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said the partnership would enable the identification and onboarding of multiple MVNOs to strengthen its competitive position in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) requires mobile network operators like Telkom to support at least three black-owned MVNOs as part of their spectrum licence conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa\u2019s MVNO market is expanding rapidly, with banks, insurance firms, and major retailers driving competition in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BMI-T\u2019s 2024 MVNO Report<\/a> said subscribers at virtual operators almost doubled from just over 2.5 million since 2022 to under 5 million last year. The firm projected that MVNO subscribers would grow to over 10 million by 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report\u2019s lead author, Johan Nel, said he expected Cell C to continue to lead the MVNO market, while banks and financial institutions, such as FNB and Capitec, are expected to dominate in the segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Telkom and Vodacom\u2019s entry into the MVNO wholesale service market, healthy competition has emerged, which will help to drive market growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is evident because many of the 23 MVNOs have switched operators or have adopted a multi-operator strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MVNOs an opportunity for Telkom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Lunga Siyo, Telkom Consumer CEO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Telkom\u2019s CEO for consumer and small business, Lunga Siyo, said in March that MVNOs present a significant opportunity for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince the sector\u2019s inception in 2006, it has experienced steady growth, with subscriber numbers increasing by 51% year-on-year by the end of 2023, reaching 4.3 million users,\u201d said Siyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said this growth was driven by consumer affinity, particularly to financial services providers, retailers, and niche brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese businesses seek to create unique branded mobile products and services, develop new value propositions and value-added services to enhance customer engagement for their own customers,\u201d Siyo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe MVNO market is an exciting space, and we are eager to bring our network capabilities and infrastructure to enable and support new entrants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siyo said Telkom was streamlining MVNO entry with a structured, scalable single-platform model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis simplifies integration, reduces operational complexity, and ensures reliable network access,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Telkom has told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications that it is close to onboarding an MVNO with 51% HDG ownership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":598728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[3334,18090,47842,48518,20557,17956,48697,109],"class_list":["post-598727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-telecoms","tag-bmi-t","tag-independent-communications-authority-of-south-africa-icasa","tag-johan-nel","tag-lunga-siyo","tag-mobile-virtual-network-operator-mvno","tag-mvne","tag-nozipho-mngomezulu","tag-telkom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598727"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":598730,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598727\/revisions\/598730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}