Telkom South Africa reportedly entered talks with the government to jointly roll out broadband products, as the country’s communications minister insisted the state would not sell its stake in the operator.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Mondli Gungubele said the partnership will involve a collaboration between Telkom’s subsidiaries including fibre business Openserve, the state’s Broadband Infraco and broadcast transmission services provider Sentech.

Gungubele revealed the companies are almost agreed on the make-up of the partnership, although details were undisclosed.

However, the move ties in with a wider government commitment to connect 80 per cent of the country’s population by 2026.

Gungubele added the government is not planning to sell its 40 per cent stake in Telkom anytime soon, as interest in the company intensified in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, Telkom rejected a bid from a consortium led by the operator’s s ex-CEO Sipho Maseko, while African rival MTN was linked with a tie-up last year.

Gungubele said through its partnership with Telkom as a shareholder, he saw “huge potential to turn the country’s future around”.