In South Africa, Telkom’s financial results for the six months ending September 30, 2024, highlight impressive growth in its mobile subscriber base and a substantial rise in mobile service revenue.
The company invested US$72 million into its mobile segment, resulting in a 1.7% expansion of its network footprint to a total of 7,814 integrated sites. The mobile subscriber base surged by 24.6%, reaching 22.8 million users.
Telkom Group CEO Serame Taukobong said, “Our mobile strategies centred on managing device costs through enhanced prepaid plans and rigorous credit vetting to mitigate risks associated with post-paid services.” He added that roaming expenses were effectively managed while expanding the mobile network’s coverage and capacity, allowing for more efficient traffic handling.
The growth was predominantly driven by prepaid customers, which saw a remarkable 29.1% increase from 15.3 million to 19.8 million subscribers. In contrast, the post-paid subscriber growth was modest at 1.4%, exceeding 3 million.
Interestingly, the average revenue per user (ARPU) rose by 1.8% to US$10.35 for post-paid customers, while prepaid ARPU fell by 4.6% to US$3.48.
Mobile operations revenue climbed by 6% to US$652 million, driven by a 10% growth in mobile service revenue, which reached US$568 million. The overall revenue increase was further supported by the flourishing fibre business.
Additionally, there was a notable rise in mobile data consumers, which grew to 14.6 million from 12.2 million in the previous year—a 19.6% increase. This suggests that 64% of Telkom’s mobile subscribers now utilize broadband services.
The growth in subscribers also stimulated mobile data usage, which surged by 25.7%, climbing from 676 petabytes to 850 petabytes (equivalent to 850 million gigabytes). Telkom commented, “The increase in data traffic by 25.7% for mobile and 28.5% for fibre reflects the strong demand for reliable connectivity across South Africa.”
