Telkom (officially Telkom SA SOC Limited) is a South African wireline and wireless telecommunications provider, operating in more than 38 countries across the African continent. Headquartered in Centurion, Telkom is one of South Africa's largest telecommunications companies by annual revenue.

Telkom is listed on the JSE Limited; South Africa's main stock exchange. As of 2024, the company had a market capitalization of R15.3 billion, and employed around 10,000 individuals.

The first use of telecommunication in South Africa happened in April 1860 was a single line telegraph connecting Cape Town and Simonstown. In 1879, the first undersea links were introduced, first connecting Durban and Europe. In the 1960s, South Africa was connected to 72 nations and total outgoing annual international calls numbered over 28,800. Telkom emerged in 1991 from the South African Department of Post and Telecommunications (SAPT), the former postal and telecommunications service provider. The Post Office Amendment Act 1991 split the department into the Postal Service (SAPO) and the Telecommunications Service (Telkom).

In 1994, South Africa launched its mobile operations, underwritten by Telkom in partnership with Vodafone. This subsidiary grew to be Vodacom, which Telkom sold in late 2008 in preference for its own 3G network (established as 8ta, but now Telkom Mobile).

Vodacom has a subscriber base of more than 45M, with an average revenue per user of more than R60 across both rural and urban subscribers. Vodacom, together with the other operators, have come under criticism in late 2009 by government and the public for high interconnect charges.

Telkom was managed by US-based SBC Communications (now AT&T Inc.) from 1997 to 2004. SBC has since sold its interest in the company, after reducing operational expenditure (reducing staff resources, etc.) and increasing revenue by increased product prices, thereby increasing the share-price for greater ROI.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the Department of Communications redefined the Electronics Communications Act, which consolidated and redefined the landscape of telecommunications licensing in South Africa (both mobile and fixed).

In 2008, the company was the market leader in the broadband space, with more than 500,000 customers on 2-40 Mbit/s DSL; it dominates the managed services market and has more than 250 corporate customers on its order book. Telkom SA operates 4.5M fixed access lines, bases on its 2008 Annual Report. The competitive landscape in South African telecommunications has evolved significantly in recent years, providing residents with far more options for connectivity than they had before, including far faster speeds via fiber-to-the-premises infrastructure.