The number of fixed lines in South Africa continued to decline in 2007, dropping by 110 000 to 4 532 000 from the previous total of 4 642 000 in March 2007.<\/p>\n
This, according to World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck, is a continuing trend that has seen Telkom has lose around 1 million fixed lines from its peak of 5.5 million subscribers at the turn of the century. <\/p>\n
Goldstuck said that the benefit of Telkom’s obligation to connect 1 million new subscribers had effectively been wiped out by the continued year-on-year loss of fixed line customers.<\/p>\n
Telkom going mobile<\/strong><\/p>\n Telkom recently unveiled its first mobile service, an indication that the company is shifting its focus to become a more "all-encompassing" telecoms provider.<\/p>\n According to Goldstuck this gives a clear indication that Telkom is realising the value of wireless services and that more consumers are buying a wireless broadband service as an alternative to Telkom’s ADSL offering.<\/p>\n Goldstuck predicts that wireless broadband as a primary form of connectivity will overtake ADSL at the end of 2009 and that Telkom is aware that it should not lose out on this market.<\/p>\n