Telkom to challenge Commission

Fri, 18 Apr 2008

Telkom confirmed that it would ask the Pretoria High Court to review a decision taken by the Competition Commission, the fixed-line operator said on Thursday.

Telkom spokesperson, Nabintu Petsana, said the Competition Commission had referred certain complaints against Telkom to the Competition Tribunal for adjudication.

Telkom has asked the Pretoria High Court to review the decision taken by the commission to refer the complaints to the tribunal and asked the court to set aside the referral, she said.

The Competition Commission has opposed the application, said Petsana.

On Wednesday the Competition Commission's chief legal counsel, Mark Worsley, said that Telkom would challenge the commission's jurisdiction in a matter it argues should be regulated exclusively by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa).

Telkom argued that the jurisdiction of competition authorities was subordinate to Icasa.

The Commission would argue that Icasa did not have concurrent jurisdiction in terms of the Competition Act.

The case will be heard on 24 and 25 April before the Pretoria High Court, Petsana and Worsley confirmed.