What is needed to open up the market is a genuinely converged environment, which is not perceived to be anti-competitive. In order for convergence to work properly, one cannot have, for example, the mobile operators challenging our right to play in the mobile space, just as we would not challenge them for moving into the fixed-line arena. Ultimately, we need to enable competition at the service level, which means changing from the current vertical model to a more open, horizontal playing field.

Telkom aims to move beyond the mindset of being only a fixed-line operator – a space it has occupied for many years – into a more convergence driven environment. Convergence is a fantastic enabler for this. While Telkom positions itself as a telecommunications leader in South Africa, we realise that competition stimulates innovations and new technologies. Therefore, we will have to work twice as hard ourselves to remain in that position.