(Ecofin Agency) - The South African telecom company Telkom has signed an international roaming agreement with the Norwegian public telecom company Telenor. Under this deal, Telenor will be responsible for the full end-to-end wholesale roaming process for Telkom. The three-and-a-half-year contract will enable Telkom to improve its retail roaming offer to end-users.

According to Althon Beukes, CEO of OpenServe, Telkom's wholesale division for high-speed Internet connectivity, Telenor was chosen because of its "extensive roaming coverage combined with its vast experience and competence,” which is "significant in providing our end users with the desired roaming experience.”

"Partnering with one of the world’s major mobile groups such as Telenor helps us to scale our retail roaming services and improve operational efficiency, which is very important to cater for our corporate and leisure travelers in South Africa,” he said.

According to Andre Nicholas Hansen, Telenor’s wholesale chief partnership officer, Telkom will benefit from "reduced wholesale roaming cost as well as operational cost" thanks to Telenor's resources, streamlined global processes, and highly experienced team.

Speed in service launch, superior quality, and improved cost will be even more important in the years to come, especially with increased pressure on the business and further consolidation that we see in the market,” Andre Nicholas Hansen said.