Telkom says it has appealed a\u00a0R449 million penalty imposed on it by the\u00a0Competition Tribunal for\u00a0abusing its dominance in the telecommunications market between 1999 and 2004.<\/p>\n
The Competition Tribunal imposed the fine on the telecoms firm on 7 August\u00a0in its case against the South African Value added Networks Services (SAVA).<\/p>\n
Telkom was given\u00a0forty business days to file the record of appeal, however, the group told BusinessTech that it agreed on an extended date with the\u00a0Commission, to 27 November.<\/p>\n
\u201cTelkom has indeed noted an appeal against the Competition Tribunal ruling in which an administrative penalty of R449 million was imposed on Telkom,” it said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“The appeal was noted in August and the 40 days for the filing of the record has passed some time ago.\u00a0However, the Competition Act allows for Telkom and the Commission to agree on an extended date for the filing of the record where necessary.<\/p>\n
“The Commission has filed a cross appeal in the matter and thus engaged with Telkom on the filing of the record. By agreement, the appeal record was then filed on 27 November 2012 and the matter will thus proceed to a hearing on a date to be allocated by the Competition Appeal Court.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tribunal concluded that Telkom leveraged its upstream monopoly in the facilities market to advantage its own subsidiary in the competitive value added network market \u2013 Telkom\u2019s conduct caused harm to both competitors and consumers alike and impeded competition and innovation in the dynamic VANS market.<\/p>\n
Half of the penalty was due to be paid within six months of the Tribunal\u2019s decision, while the balance is payable within 12 months thereafter.<\/p>\n
In calculating the penalty, the Tribunal drew on penalty guidelines set by the Competition Appeal Court in an earlier case involving Southern Pipeline Contractors. In terms of the Competition Act, administrative penalties are paid into the national revenue fund.<\/p>\n
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