Contrary to Telkom's announcement that the telecommunication services of Satellite Data Networks (SDN) were suspended for reasons of non-payment of outstanding accounts, SDN was granted an order by the High Court early this morning directing Telkom to restore all of SDN's telecommunication facilities and services. Telkom defied the order, and the matter was set before the High Court of South Africa, Johannesburg Witwatersrand local division this afternoon, and the decision upheld.
"Telkom orchestrated an issue of non-payment, which was easily proven in the notice of motion brought before the High Court," says Nalen Padiachy, SDN joint-managing director. "Telkom's actions are a malicious attempt to force a commercial resolution to the failed negotiations between Telkom and SDN over recent months regarding a broader dispute."
"Telkom not only suspended our services," explains Antony Stafford, joint-MD of SDN, "they also unlawfully suspended our clients' own circuits, for which the clients pay Telkom directly. As a result, several of our clients have initiated legal proceedings against Telkom."
The aforementioned dispute regards Telkom's insistence that SDN accepts services in accordance with it's Teleport policy, notwithstanding that there is a agreement between the parties, which clearly stipulates the terms and conditions under which these services will be accepted by SDN. This dispute is currently before the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA).
Although, Telkom has announced that the suspension of SDN's services is not related to the dispute regarding the Teleport policy, in a letter dated 23 February 2000, citing the reasons for the suspension of services, Telkom clearly stipulates that a pre-condition to the restoration of the services will be:
"a commercial agreement be concluded between Telkom and SDN pertaining to the relocation of the telecommunication services to Telkom's Teleport sites."
According to Stafford, Telkom's aggressive behaviour is driven by pressure from SDN's competitors to provide them with similar services, as it is their contention that Telkom has conferred and an unfair advantage upon SDN. "In fact, at least one court application has been made by The Internet Solution (IS) in this regard," he adds.
"IS initially attempted to acquire SDN due the impact we had in the market and when that failed it filed its notice of motion. We were cited as the second responded and we have filed answering affidavits. Telkom is loath for this motion to proceed to court and its unlawful actions are definitely a result of SDN not conceding to its demands," says SDN's Padiachy.
"Telkom contends that its offer to SDN would have resulted in a 50% saving per month - Does Telkom actually expect the market to believe that a commercial entity like SDN would not accept a 50% saving in its factors of production? The reality is that Telkom is insisting on a 1590% increase in costs and this very matter is contained in the broader dispute before SATRA," he concludes.
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Satellite Data Networks
Satellite Data Networks (SDN) was launched in October 1998 and is currently the only local Internet Service Provider (ISP) that has independently designed, implemented and managed a satellite facility for international Internet connectivity. By exploiting economies of scale, inherent in the 45Mb per second direct satellite link to Washington DC, it is commercially viable for SDN to guarantee a committed rate of data to all clients. Focusing mainly on the corporate market, SDN provides value-added network services, designed exclusively for businesses which have Internet requirements. This ability to provide guaranteed Internet capacity, coupled with comprehensive business solutions, makes SDN the most cost-effective ISP in the market today.