Offering zero rated services with environmentally friendly electric vehicles.

Telkom is expanding its network of consumer touchpoints with the roll-out of a fleet of customer-service vans, providing a range of services across South Africa, in a disruptive retail innovation.

As part of the Telkom commitment to constantly improving customer engagement within communities, this festive season will see the deployment of six Telkom T-Connect vans. These vehicles will bring digital services to events, beachfronts, office parks and gated communities in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal.

Locally manufactured by South African company MellowVans, the electric vehicles are driven by previously unemployed youths who earn commissions from sales and sign-ups. All drivers are accredited by Delivery K Speed a BEE township delivery partner.

“We are proud to enable our customers to connect and transact with Telkom through the roll-out of this fleet of T-Connect vans,” says Itumeleng Phetlho, Managing Executive: CSB Sales & Distribution for Telkom. “This is part of Telkom’s disruptive distribution strategy, which is all about bringing customers better connectivity in brand-new ways!”

By scanning the embedded QR codes on the T-Connect fleet, customers can now pay accounts, order products for delivery through Telkom’s e-commerce site and sign up for digital services, including fibre to the home. All these transactions are operating on a cashless platform and offers users zero rated services.

The T-Connect vans are currently in the proof-of-concept phase, but it is anticipated that more will be rolled out in the coming year, reaching even more customers.

“These T-Connect vans – the first of their kind – will be bringing digital solutions to points that are both accessible and convenient for customers,” says Phetlho. “Besides providing a customer service, the T-Connect vans also give us insights into customer usage and demand, which will shape the future development of our products and services.”

Over and above enhancing the Telkom value proposition, all services delivered from the vans are zero-rated, meaning that no customer data is required for them to top up data, access the e-commerce site, connect to the account payment portal or sign up for any Telkom digital services.

A further part of the Telkom disruptive-distribution drive to bring services to the people of South Africa will be the launch of the flagship Telkom “store of the future” on 14 December in Pretoria, Menlyn Shopping Centre.

A beautiful, technically sophisticated retail space, the store will be an omnichannel outlet serving the needs of the people of Tshwane and surrounds.

But for customers looking for the Telkom experience in other convenient locations in Gauteng, Western Cape and KZN, there’s the Telkom T-Connect fleet. Coming to a festive-season hotspot near you!

About Telkom

Telkom SA SOC Ltd is a leading information and communications technology services provider in South Africa. Our mission is to seamlessly connect people to a better life. We carry this through in all our brands, whether at the consumer, business, or wholesale level.

Telkom consists of the following business units: BCX, an end-to-end digital solutions provider; connectivity and wholesale division Openserve; Telkom Consumer and Small Business and property company Gyro.