The Demise of ADSL: Telkom’s Fading Legacy

Get ready to bid farewell to the antiquated copper-based ADSL network, which has been the cornerstone of Telkom’s internet offerings. The writing is on the wall – Telkom’s CEO, Althon Beukes, has confirmed that ADSL is on life support and will be officially "dead and buried" within two years.

The Graveyard of DSL

In a recent podcast interview, Beukes revealed that ADSL’s active subscriber base has been in freefall. What was once a proud 1 million-strong army of customers has dwindled to a mere 60,000. And it’s not just a natural decline – it’s a deliberate extinction event. Beukes admitted that Telkom missed the boat by not converting its massive DSL subscriber base to fibre, but there’s a silver lining: those abandoning ADSL are now flocking to fixed-wireless alternatives.

Copper to the Grave

So, what’s behind the decline? For one, fibre networks are a thousand times faster and can transmit signals up to 100 times further than copper-based ADSL. It’s a technological arms race, and ADSL is the loser. But there’s a more sinister reason – fibre is significantly easier to maintain. Beukes pointed out that copper lines are plagued by faults, requiring 10 times the number of fixes as fibre, making them a costly nightmare to service.

A Legacy of Failure

Telkom’s failure to adapt has led to a catastrophic decline in ADSL adoption. The company is now cutting staff and reducing service vehicles to reduce overheads. The writing is on the wall – ADSL is a dying breed. The question remains: what’s next for the Telecoms sector?

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