South African operator, Telkom is migrating two of its fixed line prepaid voice services, Waya-Waya and PrepaidFone, from copper to a wireless service, dubbed as 'Fixed-Line-Look-Alike (FLLA) service'. Telkom's fixed line prepaid is a voice-only service provided over copper lines, which are vulnerable to disruption due to lighting, rain and cable theft. The operator has about 390,000 prepaid fixed-line users who will be affected by the change.
Customers migrated to the new service will retain their numbers and prepaid wallet balances, and will receive a fixed-line-look-alike device at no additional charge, said Telkom. The new device will be powered by an AC adapter and a built-in battery, fitted with a GSM antenna and functions only when fitted with a SIM card registered on the Telkom network.
The new service will also allow Telkom's customers to enjoy GSM supplementary services such as call waiting, call forwarding, 3-way calling, and Call Line Identity Presentation (CLIP), added Telkom.
Attila Vitai, MD of Telkom Retail
We’re giving customers a more reliable product with the same functionality they’ve enjoyed in the past and the freedom to control their spending upfront. At the same time, we’re looking at additional entry-level prepaid products that work on wireless infrastructure.
