South Africa's leading landline operator Telkom said a surge in mobile service revenue helped offset falling fixed-line traffic during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an update released on Monday, the telecommunications provider said group revenue for the nine months ended 31 December increased by 0.9%, driven by a strong growth of 40.7% in mobile service revenue.
Group revenue rose to R32.4 billion from R32.1 billion in the previous comparable period.
Telkom recently indicated it had overtaken Cell C to become SA's third-largest mobile operator after Vodacom.
According to Telkom, active mobile customers were up more than a quarter to 14.9 million in the same period, as its investment in infrastructure had paid off amid heavy demand for broadband services.
Sipho Maseko, Telkom CEO, said the group delivered a solid set of results that was driven by robust mobile growth, solid sustainable cost management and strong free cash flow generation.
Telkom also announced that it is ready to participate in the new broadband spectrum auction, and supported the urgent release of high-demand spectrum. However, it was concerned about the non-availability of spectrum in the 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands for commercial use and the general construct of the licensing dispensation.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) announced the upcoming sale of more than R8 billion of spectrum in early October. The release of spectrum is expected to lower the cost of communication and access to broadband.
Telkom and mobile operator MTN have mounted separate legal challenges against the process.
The long delayed auction is expected to take place by end of March.