TELKOM SA LIMITED - TELKOM NOTES COMPETITION COMMISSION AND TRIBUNAL DECISIONS
Telkom SA Limited
(Registration Number 1991/005476/06)
ISIN ZAE000044897
JSE and NYSE Share Code TKG
("Telkom")
TELKOM NOTES COMPETITION COMMISSION AND TRIBUNAL DECISIONS
Telkom has noted the Competition Commission"s decision to refer certain of the
complaints brought against it in 2002 by the South African Value-Added Network
Services Association (SAVA) and Omnilink to the Competition Tribunal for
determination.
"We will respond to the Competition Commission"s referral in due course, once we
have been served with their notice of motion," said Telkom"s Legal Services
Group Executive, Mandla Ngcobo.
He said that it was unfortunate that press reports created the impression that
Telkom had already been tried, found guilty and fined. "This is not the case. On
the contrary, Telkom co-operated fully with the Competition Commission in its
investigations and their findings are of a preliminary nature only. The matter
will now serve before the Competition Tribunal where the allegations will be
fully aired. We feel confident that we will be able to demonstrate to the
Tribunal that Telkom has not contravened the Competition Act."
The Commission"s further decision not to refer the "bundling complaint" to the
Tribunal demonstrated that the Company had not unfairly leveraged its position
as a provider of facilities in the VANS market.
"Telkom has consistently provided telecommunication facilities to VANS providers
within the current legal and regulatory framework and the parameters as set out
by ICASA in their previous rulings. Telkom, as a PSTS provider, denies that it
has abused any dominant position. These disputes with SAVA relate to long-
standing issues which are still pending before ICASA, certain of which have been
dealt with, but the rulings were set aside by the High Court on review and
referred back to ICASA, for their consideration. Others are yet to be finalized
by ICASA," said Ngcobo.
While the Competition Act makes provision for the imposition of a remedy of up
to 10% of a company"s turnover, there is a judicial process that must be
followed here. It is by no means a foregone conclusion that the Competition
Tribunal will uphold the findings of the Commission, or impose this remedy on
Telkom. The Act also allows for an appeal process, and it is irresponsible to
speculate on the outcome of the legal process.
With regard to the Competition Tribunal"s ruling relating to the provision of
confidential information to Orion, Ngcobo said that Telkom did not agree with
the ruling and was taking the matter on appeal.
Johannesburg
25 Februarys 2004
Sponsor: UBS
Date: 25/02/2004 02:59:44 PM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
Profile Group (Pty) Ltd. has taken care in preparing all information on this website, but does not accept any liability for errors or out-of-date information.
