Icasa in R77.8m licence fee dispute with Vodacom
The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) is trying to settle a dispute over license fees with Vodacom to avoid public embarrassment in court. This is according to a Sunday Times report.
The newspaper reported that the watchdog is claiming that Vodacom owes it R77.8 million in unpaid license fees.
Vodacom is fighting this claim, arguing that the regulator tried to change its mind over license fees, which is not acceptable.
According to Vodacom spokesperson Richard Boorman Icasa revised its license fees in August 2010 to level the playing field between state owned companies (like Telkom) and private companies.
At the last minute Icasa tried to delay this decision, potentially because it meant that Telkom would pay significantly higher fees, in line with what private companies had to pay.
The new license fee regime meant that Vodacom saved R77.8 million. Icasa feels that Vodacom should still pay the higher fees, but Vodacom disputes this.
Vodacom said that Icasa’s last minute decision to delay the implementation of the new fee structure was unlawful.
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