Competition Tribunal undecided on Telkom’s fate
Final arguments were heard in the Competition Tribunal’s case against telecommunications giant Telkom. Whether the company should be fined and the nature of such a possible penalty remains undecided.
Alfred Cockrell, Telkom senior council member, says the possible fine borders on unconstitutional. (image: file)
If Telkom is penalised and they appeal the fine, the case could go on for several years. Desmond Rudman, partner at law firm Webber Wentzel, says Telkom’s first port of call in such a scenario would be the competition appeals court.
“The commission acts as investigator and prosecutor. It’s similar to the police and prosecutors in the criminal justice system. It collects evidence and prosecutes the matter before the tribunal,” Rudman explained. The tribunal does not have the power of a court. “Telkom will probably do both,” says Rudman.
Alfred Cockrell, Telkom senior council, suggested on Wednesday in a statement that the large fine R3.5 billion fine could be regarded unconstitutional. If the ruling goes against Telkom, and no fine is dished out, it appears unlikely Telkom will let it slip.
According to Rudman, getting even an appeal through takes several months. If unsuccessful, Telkom could turn to turn to the supreme court of appeal via the Competition Appeals Court or a petition in the supreme court.
Nico Gous
Undecided? Are you kidding me? The decision is clear…. WARNING AND THAT IS IT! Do you honestly consider fining Telkom R3.5 billion? Who is going to pay for it? The 60% private shareholders or the 40% government shareholder? You do know that the 40% government shareholder is us, the general public, right? So it will be paid from our tax money of which government and our friend Julius corrupts a big part before it even reaches the coffers for legitimate spending. Oh and I am sure you will also consider the fact that Telkom may just declare bankruptcy…. that would be fun! You do have jobs for the thousands of people working for Telkom right? You do have a plan for the thousands of companies who will have to go without Telkom services and products right? If you think Telkom's service is bad I cannot wait to see any of its competitors deliver even a fraction of the services. DISASTER! All these CEO's of the "alternative telecoms" companies who shouts "SHUT TELKOM DOWN" stop being whining little brats…. go make your companies competitive and stop waiting for the demise of the company who defined telecommunications in this country. Not all good and not all bad but it will be a damn shame to ever see Telkom disappear.
Instead of being fined and having to pay this into unknown coffers; Telkom should be forced to unbundle there plant from a street distribution cabinet and distribution point level, allowing licensed operators access to this plant. In so doing a clear message will be sent and delivery of bandwidth will force further competition and drop pricing. The country will benefit from the competition that this will bring, forcing Telkom to drop its pricing and having to compete with smaller licensed operators.