About
Subscribe

Commission rules on Telkom-Orion spat

By Iain Scott, ITWeb group consulting editor
Johannesburg, 06 Apr 2004

The Competition Commission has found that there is insufficient evidence to support Orion Telecom`s allegations that Telkom has been engaging in anti-competitive behaviour.

The commission has decided not to refer the matter to the Competition Tribunal, the final arbiter on competition issues.

Anton Klopper of Telkom`s legal services department says that in terms of the , Orion Telecom still has the option of approaching the tribunal itself, but Telkom has not heard anything from the company.

Orion MD Don Tredoux was in a meeting about the matter at the time of publication, although his office promised to comment later.

Orion filed a complaint with the commission in April last year, alleging that Telkom had lured two of Orion`s clients, Standard and Edgars, by offering them substantial discounts.

However, the commission found there was no evidence of predatory pricing.

``Telkom has been vindicated in its stance that Telkom has not acted in an anti-competitive manner in granting volume and term discounts to customers who qualify for same," says Klopper.

``Telkom has over the past year co-operated fully with the Competition Commission in its investigations and the company is confident it will continue to offer end-to-end solutions and services to its customers.``

Related stories:
Another twist in Orion vs Telkom case
Telkom appeals against tribunal decision
Orion takes Telkom to task

Share