Data revenue now makes up 60% of Telkom’s total earnings as mobile subscribers hit 25 million

South African telecom operator Telkom has reported its third-quarter results for 2025. The results show that data services now make up 60% of the company’s total earnings, highlighting the rapid shift in the telecom industry away from traditional phone calls.

The company reported third-quarter revenue of $701 million, up 1.3% year-over-year. For the first nine months, revenue reached $2.09 billion, a 2.7% increase. Telkom’s mobile subscriber base has also surpassed 25 million, with most users actively utilising mobile data.

Data revenue increased by 9.6% in the quarter. Mobile data, which is used for activities like streaming or scrolling through social media, saw a growth of 12.9%. Additionally, fibre revenue, which supports home internet connections, rose by 8.9%.

CEO Serame Taukobong stated that the company is fully investing in data while reducing its focus on older, less profitable services.

Mobile business driving growth

Telkom’s mobile division is currently the strongest part of the company. In the third quarter, mobile service revenue increased by 7.2%. Prepaid customers, who buy airtime as needed instead of signing contracts, spent 11.6% more than they did last year.

Millions of South Africans are buying more data bundles, streaming more videos, using more apps, and making fewer traditional voice calls. The company now has over 25 million mobile users, with 19.3 million actively using mobile data. The number of mobile data users increased by 29.3% in just one year.

Read also: Telkom’s revenue surges 3.4% to $1.28 billion in H1’25, driven by data revenue

Telkom’s Openserve division has connected nearly 787,000 homes to fibre internet. This type of connection allows entire households to stream, game, and work from home at the same time without buffering. The company has installed fibre infrastructure to over 1.5 million homes and adds about 30,000 new connections every quarter.

How Telkom is making profit

Telkom’s profit margin improved while the company invested a lot in expanding its network. For the quarter, EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation) grew by 8.4% to $204 million. The profit margin reached 29.1%, which means Telkom keeps about 29 cents as operating profit for every dollar it makes.

Telkom is saving money and managing its network better. They reduced the losses from customers who don’t pay their bills, cut unnecessary costs, and made their network more efficient. For example, instead of keeping expensive old systems, the company is moving customers to newer and cheaper systems.

Telkom spent $82 million in Q3 on building out its network, new mobile towers, more fibre lines, and upgraded equipment. Over nine months, the company invested $263 million total, focusing almost entirely on mobile and fibre expansion rather than legacy systems.

The strategy is straightforward: grab as many mobile data customers as possible, connect more homes to fiber, and let the old voice-call business fade naturally. For now, it’s working.

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