Telkom’s mobile business drove another quarter of top-line growth, but the numbers behind its market-leading prepaid performance show how much of that growth now rests on airtime lending and AI-driven customer offers. Telkom credited the prepaid surge to targeted customer acquisition and “people-led AI” delivered through its customer value management platforms, Mo’Nice and Mo’Town, which it said accounted for 54.6% of prepaid service revenue in the quarter. More than half of Telkom’s prepaid revenue is generated through its personalisation platformsThese platforms typically use personalised offers and targeted discounting to lift recharge frequency. Put another way, close to a quarter of Telkom’s prepaid recharges are now funded on credit, and more than half of prepaid revenue is generated through its personalisation platforms — a reliance that raises questions about how durable the operator’s prepaid momentum will prove. Telkom expects group service revenue to grow in the mid-single digits, “potentially trending above the upper end of the range”, and reiterated its 12-15% capex intensity guidance for the year.