Telkom opens fibre trial for DSL customers

Communication services provider Telkom’s digital subscriber line (DSL) customers will, from Tuesday, have the opportunity to test out the JSE-listed group’s fibre network in a two-month trial.

The trial would see more than 11 000 DSL users migrate from their copper-based 2 Mb/s, 4 Mb/s and 8 Mb/s DSL connectivity products to an equivalent fibre-based service to experiment with the group’s Boltspeed 10 Mb/s and 20 Mb/s fibre products for free.

In a try-before-you-buy approach, Telkom would permanently upgrade their DSL-based clients to fibre, installing a like-for-like system, at no cost and within seven to ten days of order, allowing customers to upgrade or maintain their services after the trial or beyond.

“Telkom has the largest fibre network in the country and we want to take this high-performing technology into our customers’ homes, businesses and schools. This unique trial offer is a win-win for customers in that we will migrate them to our Telkom fibre, at no additional cost,” said Telkom consumer MD Attila Vitai.

According to its website, Telkom currently offered a 10 Mb/s fibre connection for R699 a month, a 20 Mb/s line at R849 a month, a 40 Mb/s service for R1 099 a month and a 100 Mb/s service for R1 599 a month.

“Fibre is the next evolution of fixed-line broadband connectivity and we want our customers to enjoy the best technology experience we can offer. Not only does fibre offer faster speeds but it is less susceptible to electronic interference, lightning and water damage than the copper network,” he said.

Telkom planned to take its fibre-to-the-home connections past one-million homes by March 2018, half of which were expected to come online by the end of this year.