Another South African telecom firm waves goodbye to the Kenyan market.

South African fixed-line telecom operator, Telkom SA, last month made a dramatic retreat from the East African market, selling loss-making units iWayAfrica and Africa Online to Gondwana International Networks. Telkom SA’s sale highlights the competitive and difficult environment facing many telecom companies and Internet service providers as new technologies and better-funded competitors dominate the market and influence the pricing of products and services. Analysts expect the sale to set up the telecom market across Africa for mergers and acquisitions to consolidate market share. It also brings to the fore how a number of South African companies are struggling to penetrate the East African market. The financial details of the Telkom SA transaction were not disclosed, but the operator termed the companies an “immaterial part of the group”. “This transaction is one of many initiatives that will contribute to our own turnaround, allowing us to focus on our core South African fixed-line and mobile operations,” said Telkom SA CEO Sipho Maseko.


source: www.standardmedia.co