As part of its Q1 SENS announcement, Telkom Group shared that it had approved the legal and structural separation of Openserve, South Africa’s largest wholesale network infrastructure provider and that it would be effective 1^st of September 2022.

Highlighting the decision, Serame Taukobong, Telkom Group CEO says, “We have been on a journey to transform and unlock value in the Group by separating the operating businesses to become standalone entities, which started with BCX and subsequently Gyro, which now operate as separate legal entities wholly owned by Telkom SOC.”

“Openserve follows suit as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Telkom Group, which will promote and drive autonomous ability and market visibility” says Taukobong.

Openserve CEO Althon Beukes says: “This next phase of our journey focuses on unlocking greater value through the legal and structural separation, positioning Openserve to respond to the ever-changing regulatory and competitive environment and enabling us to continue to focus on our growth ambitions.”

Beukes adds that, "Since the inception of Openserve in 2015, we have made significant strides in laying the foundation for our future success, by focusing on launching innovative products & services, providing superior interactions through our frontline staff and leveraging our innovative digital channels to create a differentiated customer experience.”  

This is already evident in the announcement that Openserve will serve as the landing station partner for Google’s extensive Equiano submarine cable system developed to run from western Europe, along the west coast of Africa to South Africa’s facilities in Melkbosstrand in the Western Cape.

Openserve, has focused on accelerating its FTTH network to provide open access connectivity to more than 890 000 homes in South Africa, importantly with an industry leading connectivity rate of 46.6%. Openserve is confident that the ongoing increase in demand for data consumption will drive the growth in fibre connectivity and is positioning its network to provide a connected experience to more and more communities across South Africa.