Joburg - South Africa's fixed-line phone group Telkom will begin offering mobile phone services from 2010 as it launches a new mobile business to offset falling profit from its fixed-line business.

"We believe there's room for the fourth mobile operator in South Africa," Telkom's CEO Reuben September said in conference call on Tuesday.

Telkom has seen its revenue at its core fixed-line business come under pressure, after spinning off and selling its stake in Vodacom, South Africa's biggest mobile phone operator and Telkom's main earnings driver.

The company plans to spend R6-billion over five years to launch a mobile phone business as profits from its fixed-line business tumbled.

September said the fixed-line phone operator - the biggest in Africa - saw opportunities in the mobile data market as competitors MTN, Vodacom and Cell C dominated the near saturated voice market.

The company, which already has nearly 9 000 mobile data services customers, did not disclose the full details of the strategy due to "competitive sensitivities". - Reuters