Sean McManus, TelecomTV (00:13):
Hello and welcome to WINWIN Live. I'm Sean McManus, editorial contributor at telecom tv. Today I'm talking to Serame Taukobong, Group CEO at Telkom South Africa, who will be sharing his experiences and insights on best business practices. We're joined today by WINWIN, an AI agent who will bring us some unique insights, WINWIN. What are your thoughts on the best business practices for telecom operators?

WinWin (00:39):
As an ai, I agree with telecom's, emphasis on integrated services, converging mobile fixed and IT solutions creates a seamless ecosystem that enhances customer stickiness and operational agility. AI driven analytics can optimize cross-selling opportunities by predicting customer needs, which will enable both value creation and shareholder returns.

Sean McManus, TelecomTV (01:06):
Thank you. WINWIN, WINWIN has also prepared an interesting ending for this interview, which we will reveal together when we get there. So let's start with our first question. Using integrating mobile fixed and IT services helps to create value for customers and shareholders, what has been your experience here?

Serame Taukobong, SA TELKOM GROUP (01:23):
Well, compared to the cell in individual segments, none match our breadth, depth or agility in unifying services. Telkom South Africa's ownership of both a robust mobile network and South Africa's largest open access fiber backbone allows us to deliver unmatched synergy. By leveraging our conversion network, we ensure reliability, scalability, and cost efficiency, whether for SMEs adopting IOT driven logistics tools or enterprises migrating to hybrid cloud environments, our one telcom approach ensures that every division from retail stores to enterprise account manager aligns to unlock cross-functional value driving customer retention and shareholder returns.

Sean McManus, TelecomTV (02:07):
Interesting that the cross-sell reduces churn. Customers clearly appreciate the convenience of bundled solutions. Now, Telkom South Africa achieved strong growth in mobile services last year and in a challenging market. What differentiated your strategy

Serame Taukobong, SA TELKOM GROUP (02:21):
Regionalization? We engineered our sales engine to prioritize customer efficiency by streamlining regional teams into agile data-driven units and investing in digital tools for performance tracking. We empowered frontline teams to act faster and spotter network quality and reach. We prioritize strategic investments in our infrastructure, bring fiber 4G and 5G coverage to underserved areas while enhancing our network, our urban network of performance, customer-centric value propositions. We disrupted the market with flexible, affordable plans tailored to diverse segments from data-centric bundles for cost conscious customers to seamless connectivity solutions for SMEs. Our customer first approach extends to transparent pricing and proactive support. Fostering loyalty

Sean McManus, TelecomTV (03:15):
Broadband is clearly an engine for your growth, which is perhaps not surprising when data demand just keeps rocketing. As a national carrier with a long history, telecom has fiber services with a high ratio of collected homes. How are you achieving this in a competitive market and at scale?

Serame Taukobong, SA TELKOM GROUP (03:30):
In telecom, each business unit has its own positioning and targets. It's not easy to manage. Firstly, we need to unify our thinking at the group level. We need to promote the one telcomm strategy. We are multi-service carrier and BU are not independent company. Comprehensive business advantage can generate additional value. For example, the combination of cloud services and mobile services can improve the development of MBB users and FMC can provide better service based on a comprehensive advantage of fixed and mobile networks. Second TAL M'S business organizations need to be adjusted accordingly. Each business should consider expanding onwards and have an open mind. Telcomm is ahead of the home broadband market. From home links to smart home, from enterprise links to smart offices, smart ports, smart cities, et cetera. We can use advantage of comprehensive services to turn a single service into a converged service for long-term development. Finally, telcomm as a national enterprise has a responsibility for national digital transformation with abundant network services, network resources, tcomm needs to contribute more to South Africa and even Africa in the field such as data centers and computing in the future and provide better life for African people. This is telecom's mission.

Sean McManus, TelecomTV (04:58):
It's great to hear that you are driven to provide a better life for your customers. Broadband is vital for that. The introduction of new technologies is forcing enterprises and governments to rethink the way they serve their customers. How is telecom positioning itself through its BCX business?

Serame Taukobong, SA TELKOM GROUP (05:14):
Our BCX business is at the forefront on enabling digital transformation by combining deep industry expertise with cutting edge technologies like ai, cloud and cybersecurity. We focus on sector specific solutions such as AI driven retail, customer analytics, and e-government platforms that slash delivery times by 70% to help enterprises and governments innovate efficiently. Strategic partnerships with hyperscalers and SME enablement programs ensure scalable, secure, and affordable digitization. Crucially, VCH leverages talcom integrated infrastructure, 5G fiber and data centers to deliver seamless converged solutions like unified workspace for secure hybrid work that competitors cannot replicate. With the growth in enterprise customers. VC X's agility and focus on outcomes position us as South Africa's trusted partner for turning disruption into opportunity.

Sean McManus, TelecomTV (06:19):
Okay, so you're bringing together sector specific solutions with your integrated communications infrastructure. Telecom has a number of key strategic partners and Huawei is one of them. Has your collaboration accelerate technical innovation and digital transformation at Telecom?

Serame Taukobong, SA TELKOM GROUP (06:35):
Our partnership with HU Wave focuses on future proofing infrastructure jointly. We've rolled out 5G ready sites in Johannesburg and Cape Town reducing latency by 40%. They are AI driven network optimization tools also provide our operational efficiency, cutting downtime by 25%. This collaboration ensures TELECOMM remains at the forefront of South Africa's digital economy.

Sean McManus, TelecomTV (07:03):
Great to hear the results you're seeing from 5G and AI there. Digital transformation is central to Telecomms strategy. How have your investments in automation and digital infrastructure driven business growth?

Serame Taukobong, SA TELKOM GROUP (07:15):
At the core of our digital transformation is our AI informative platform, which integrates multi-domain data, network performance, customer behavior, and operational matrix into a unified data foundation. This approach powers grid operations enabling real-time decisions. This synergy between network and business units also unlocks cross-functional value. In the past year, this approach identified underserved areas using combined geospatial and demographic data guiding our prepaid LTE user acquisition in the township area.

Sean McManus, TelecomTV (07:55):
There's clearly immense potential in bringing data together like this. Looking ahead, what's are telecom's biggest challenges and how will the company adapt to overcome them?

Serame Taukobong, SA TELKOM GROUP (08:04):
Our primary challenges on navigating regulatory complexity and scaling infrastructure to meet the rising demand and constrained economic environment. Through our one telcomm strategy, we are addressing these head on. For example, victory and broadband is a pillar that prioritize expanding fiber and mobile networks to underserved regions, ensuring we grow responsibly while bridging the digital divide on innovation. Our collaboration with partners like Huawei ensures that we stay ahead in 5G and AI driven network optimization, enabling smarter resource allocation and predictive maintenance. Ultimately, one tcomm isn't just a strategy, it is our compass that leads to South Africa's connectivity future. Ensuring every challenge becomes a catalyst for sustainable progress.

Sean McManus, TelecomTV (08:57):
Bridging the digital divide is so important, so it's great to hear it's a priority for you. Now over to you, WINWIN. How will AI technology support South Africa's future connectivity?

WinWin (09:09):
As Serame highlighted, AI will improve connectivity in South Africa by closing the digital divide through partnerships like telecom's. Collaboration with Huawei AI-driven network optimization and 5G deployment can extend affordable high-speed connectivity to underserved areas. Additionally, AI powered tools like smart resource allocation and predictive maintenance will strengthen infrastructure scalability in line with telecom's mission to drive inclusive digital transformation.

Sean McManus, TelecomTV (09:45):
Thank you. And also thank you Serame for sharing telecom's business strategy and South Africa and your experience in maintaining best business practices. Now it's time to reveal the special ending from WINWIN. Hi, WINWIN. Based on our discussion just now, what do you have for us? Thank you for joining us here at WINWIN Live. See you next time.