{"id":609816,"date":"2025-09-08T14:01:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T12:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=609816"},"modified":"2025-09-08T14:03:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T12:03:34","slug":"telkom-dsl-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/adsl\/609816-telkom-dsl-shutdown.html","title":{"rendered":"Telkom DSL shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Telkom is intensifying its efforts to transition the last remaining users of digital subscriber line (DSL) services in South Africa to newer fixed Internet technologies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched in the early 2000s, DSL was South Africa’s dominant fixed broadband technology for several years. It was only surpassed by fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) sometime in early 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While its initial entry was widely welcomed for significantly improved speeds, technical limitations and poor customer service dented the technology’s reputation in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DSL’s use of copper-based cabling also proved a major headache locally, as it became a target for thieves who could sell it to unscrupulous scrap yards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to its latest figures, Telkom’s wholesale and networks division, Openserve, only had about 25,306 DSL customers left by June 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was less than half the number from a year earlier and down 97.5% from a peak of roughly 1.01 million in 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Telkom has retained some of these customers on fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), many were lost to rival fibre network operators (FNOs) like Vumatel, MetroFibre, and Frogfoot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company failed to leverage its extensive trenching and curbside infrastructure to modernise its network quickly and avoid losing customers to the superior technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of June 2025, 723,337 homes were connected to Telkom’s fibre network. Even when adding the 25,306 DSL connections, its overall fixed broadband connections were 26% lower than in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of households with active or ready-to-go-live FTTH connections is estimated to be around two million in 2025, so Openserve holds just 36% of the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While that is the second-largest of any FNO, it must be viewed in the context of Telkom having a total monopoly on fixed-line Internet connectivity before the fibre rush began. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent feedback to MyBroadband, Telkom explained that the remaining DSL users were dispersed nationwide, which reduced the effectiveness of cluster-based migration campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Some long-time copper users are satisfied with their current service or have low usage, while others may be unaware of available options,” Telkom said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In the coming months, we will intensify targeted migration outreach and customer support to help remaining users transition to modern alternatives.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final holdouts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Telkom no longer allows new sign-ups for DSL or any copper-based fixed-line phone services. Openserve-partnered Internet service providers (ISPs) have also removed the options from their websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One customer recently told MyBroadband that their ISP explained Telkom would no longer service or repair their line after their connection suddenly stopped working in early September 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The customer was upset that their ISP had never notified them that Telkom was decommissioning its copper network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had already paid over R600 in upfront monthly fees for their connection, which the ISP’s support agents said would not be restored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also said the ISP had not offered them an alternative broadband product \u2014 like fibre or fixed-wireless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Thankfully, I have an existing contract with my cell provider, and they are calling me back today to sort out a deal for me as soon as possible,” the customer said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband contacted the ISP about the issue and why it had not offered an alternative broadband product, but it did not respond by the time of publication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Telkom also <\/span>previousl<\/span>y cut off<\/a> a loyal customer’s DSL connection without alternative fixed-broadband connectivity being available in his area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after MyBroadband contacted Telkom about the issue, it restored the connection and notified the customer that his product would be migrated to fixed-LTE or FTTH as soon as these were available in his area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Telkom is intensifying migrating its dwindling DSL customer base to fibre and fixed-wireless products. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":584344,"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":[5],"tags":[71,23297,20153,33386,109,6847],"class_list":["post-609816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adsl","tag-adsl-2","tag-digital-subscriber-line-dsl","tag-fibre-to-the-home-ftth","tag-openserve","tag-telkom","tag-vdsl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609816"}],"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\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609816"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":609926,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609816\/revisions\/609926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}