Openserve's Althon Beukes on why Telkom is launching 'naked ADSL'

Loading player...
Telkom announced earlier this week that its wholesale division, Openserve, is launching a new product for Internet service providers that means consumers are no longer required to buy a copper line from Telkom’s retail division.
The move, known colloquially as "naked ADSL", is one that has long been requested from consumers who don't want a landline voice service but have been frustrated by the fact that it was a requirement when buying a copper-based fixed-line broadband service from Telkom.
Openserve CEO Althon Beukes spoke to TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about the new product, known as Openserve Pure Connect. He explained why, after so many years of agitation from consumers, Telkom has finally decided to offer "naked ADSL" through its ISP partners.
"I guess you can say it's long overdue," Beukes said. "We have seen in the last few years that there is still a demand for our copper broadband services and hence we have now simplified the value proposition because it is a very cost-effective and reliable way to connect."
In the podcast, Beukes explains what the announcement means for the longevity of Telkom's copper access network, and why the company will continue to decommission copper in areas where fibre is deployed and where it no longer makes financial sense to continue to support the technology.
30 Apr 2020 English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

TCS+ | The retirement decision most South Africans get wrong

What happens to your retirement savings when you leave an employer is one of the most consequential financial decisions most South Africans will make – and one of the most commonly mishandled. In this podcast conversation with Mpho Chitapi, 10X Investments senior investment consultant Michael Rossouw sets out what should…
6 May 55 min

TCS | The Cape Town start-up listening for TB with AI

AI Diagnostics, a Cape Town-based med-tech company that has built an AI-powered stethoscope designed to detect tuberculosis, recently raised R85-million in a pre-series-A funding round. In this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS), Nkosinathi Ndlovu speaks to the company’s CEO, Braden van Breda, about the funding round and its mission…
4 May 36 min

TCS+ | ‘The ISP for ISPs’: Vox’s shift to wholesale aggregator

Vox, a well-established retail internet service provider is expanding its services to the wholesale market through aggregation. In this episode of TechCentral’s podcast series TCS+, Andre Eksteen, senior product manager for fibre to the business at Vox, discusses the rationale behind this strategy and the services Vox is offering as…
20 Apr 16 min

TCS | Werner Lindemann on how AI is rewriting the infosec rulebook

The pace at which artificial intelligence is reshaping the threat landscape is outstripping the ability of most organisations to defend themselves, with shadow AI, synthetic identity attacks and a looming quantum computing disruption all converging at once. That’s the view of DataGroupIT CEO Werner Lindemann, who joined Duncan McLeod on…
15 Apr 38 min

TCS | Donovan Marsh on AI and the future of filmmaking

Award-winning South African film director Donovan Marsh has pivoted to artificial intelligence filmmaking and believes generative AI tools could fundamentally reshape how movies are made – and who gets to make them. Marsh, whose 30-year career includes directing the Hollywood submarine thriller Hunter Killer starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman,…
7 Apr 52 min