South African telecommunications giant Telkom said on Wednesday that it has concluded a roaming agreement with mobile operator MTN South Africa.

Telkom said in a statement that it has placed orders to build 2 000 new base stations in selected high-density areas over the next two years, and also concluded a five-year national roaming agreement with MTN South Africa in terms of which Telkom and its customers will have national access to MTN's 2G and 3G network throughout South Africa.

The capital programme for mobile related investments over the next 5 years is expected to be approximately R6 billion, it said.

"The conclusion of a roaming agreement with MTN South Africa enhances Telkom's ability to offer Telkom customers extensive and national mobile coverage from day one of launch and accordingly, is key to the delivery of a successful mobile strategy," it said.

Following the disposal of its 50% stake in Vodacom, Telkom announced its intention to enter the mobile voice and data business and the latest agreement is the next step in this strategy.