He spun out Telkom's wholesale division into Openserve, agreed to a settlement with the Competition Commission over legacy anticompetitive abuses in the Internet market, and set the stage for a more open, competitive and healthy telecoms industry. Sat back But consumers, hungry for real broadband (not flaky and slow copper-based ADSL), were quickly abandoning Telkom's fixed-line services in areas where fibre alternatives were being deployed. Instead of seizing the fibre opportunity with both hands, Telkom sat back and watched as Vumatel and others proved the fibre business model can work in South Africa. When Telkom, through Openserve, eventually realised it, too, had to invest, or risk losing its fixed-line business entirely, it had already ceded a big chunk of the fibre opportunity. Telkom is now fighting back with aggressively priced products.