Most people assume "Telkom fibre" is one network with one price list. It isn't. Telkom sells fibre the same way an estate agent sells houses — it doesn't own most of what it's showing you. Its cheapest package is R345 a month; its priciest tops R800. What you actually get depends on which of five different fibre networks reaches your address.
What "Telkom fibre" actually means
Telkom does own a fibre network — it runs through a separate business called Openserve, which Telkom spun out to sell wholesale, open-access lines to any ISP. But when you go to Telkom's own site and buy "Telkom Fibre," you're not always buying Openserve. Telkom also resells fibre built by FrogFoot, Vumatel, MetroFibre and Octotel — whichever one happens to reach your street.
That matters because the network — not the brand on the invoice — decides your speed ceiling, install process and who to call when the line drops. Telkom is the storefront; the network underneath does the actual work.
Telkom's own fibre packages and prices
Telkom runs several named packages at different price points, each tied to a specific network. These are the current entry prices, cheapest to priciest, at the time of writing:
| Package | Network | Speed | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy Connect Fibre | Openserve | 20–40 Mbps | R345/mo |
| FrogFoot Air | FrogFoot | 25 Mbps | R460/mo |
| Uncapped Lite | Vumatel | 30–1000 Mbps | from R495/mo |
| Stream Connect | Openserve | 25–50 Mbps | R499/mo |
| Uncapped Lite | MetroFibre | 30–500 Mbps | from R529/mo |
| Telkom Uncapped | Octotel | 25–1000 Mbps | from R549/mo |
| Core Fibre | Openserve | 50–100 Mbps | R695/mo |
| Telkom Uncapped | FrogFoot | 60–1000 Mbps | from R720/mo |
| Endless Fibre | Openserve | 50–500 Mbps | R805/mo |
All of these are uncapped, with no FUP or throttling on the core data — the difference between tiers is contract length (most are 12-month), speed range and which network carries the line. Prices move and promos rotate, so treat this as a snapshot, not a quote: confirm the live price before signing anything.
Telkom sells more than one network
This is the part worth knowing before you buy: five different fibre networks are on that list, and Telkom is only the ISP for the customer, not the reason the line works or doesn't. FrogFoot, Vumatel, MetroFibre and Octotel all sell the exact same lines through other ISPs too — often at different prices for the same speed.
That's worth knowing before you sign, because the same physical line — say, Openserve at 50 Mbps — can cost noticeably more or less depending on which ISP you buy it from, Telkom included. Our Openserve deals guide breaks down the cheapest ISPs on that specific network.
Practical takeaway: before you pick "Telkom" out of habit, check which network actually reaches your address — then compare every ISP selling that network, Telkom included. Run your address here to see all of them side by side.
The free prepaid trial (worth knowing about)
Telkom also runs a low-commitment entry point on Openserve: a once-off, no-contract prepaid line with 14 days of uncapped data and a Wi-Fi router included, currently priced at R0 (was R199). It's not a long-term package — it's a way to test whether a line performs before you commit to 12 months on something faster.
Is Telkom the cheapest option?
Sometimes, not always. Telkom's entry-level Easy Connect Fibre (R345 for 20–40 Mbps on Openserve) genuinely undercuts most of the market at that speed. But higher up, other ISPs selling the same networks often beat Telkom's price at the same speed tier — the gap is ISP margin, not the line itself.
The only way to know for sure is to compare Telkom against every other ISP selling the network that reaches your address. Our fibre deals page ranks every ISP by real monthly price at each speed, and SA fibre networks compared lines up the underlying networks if you're not sure which one you'd be buying.
Bottom line: "Telkom fibre" is a brand on an invoice, not a network. Check what actually reaches your address, then compare Telkom against every other ISP selling the same line — the cheapest one rarely has the biggest logo. Check your address to see every network and ISP live at your home.