In October 2025, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the country’s telecom regulator, mandated Telkom to provide free WiFi at city centres, such as Thusong, a peri-urban area, or risk paying up to R1 million ($57,500) in fines.Â
The regulator instructed the telecom firm to provide those networks, in accordance with the Universal Service and Access Obligations (USAOs), a licence condition that requires operators to extend connectivity beyond profitable areas. Poor connectivity in these centres means public institutions located there struggle with unreliable networks, creating bottlenecks in delivering essential public services.
State of play: Telkom is opting to connect city centres in South Africa rather than meet outdated licence conditions that obligate it to provide services, such as public pay phones and directory services. The firm is likely on track to mount the first batch of the public WiFi networks by April 2026, the timeline given by ICASA.
Is this business or saving skin? Both. On the surface, this is regulatory housekeeping. Telkom is avoiding fines and replacing legacy requirements with something future-facing. The WiFi hotspots must be free, capped (300MB daily), and maintained at Telkom’s cost, so direct profit is unlikely.Â
But strategically, it aligns with Telkom’s data-first pivot. In December 2025, Telkom crossed 25 million subscribers, drawing it closer to competitors MTN and Vodacom, the top two telecom providers in South Africa, with subscribers of 39.8 million and 39 million, respectively. Telkom’s mobile data users now make up 76.5% of its subscriber base, and data traffic jumped 20.4% year-on-year.
Like most telecom firms, Telkom prioritises dense urban corridors where average revenue per user (ARPU) is stronger. Rural or peri-urban centres typically deliver thinner margins. While free public WiFi won’t move revenue immediately, it deepens its footprint, supports brand equity, and strengthens regulatory goodwill as rivals like MTN and Vodacom focus on commercial network expansion.