Telkom says it will continue monitoring the usage of the communications services it provides to Transnet, and it will not hesitate to apply for an urgent interdict against Transnet should it "illegally" land and terminate international voice telecommunications traffic.
This follows a Pretoria High Court decision on Friday to refer Transnet`s dispute with Telkom to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) for adjudication. The dispute arose in November last year when Telkom suspended outgoing calls on Transnet subsidiary Transtel`s main switchboard lines.
Telkom said at the time it had barred outgoing calls from the Transtel switchboard because it had obtained "conclusive" proof that Transtel was illegally bringing international voice telecommunications traffic into SA and had been doing so for at least three years.
Transtel denied the accusations, saying they were unfounded and touched on the organisation`s rights to operate as a business.
Telkom was forced to reinstate Transtel`s lines following an urgent interdict application.
Transtel CEO Karl Socikwa is reported to have welcomed last week`s court decision, saying the court had agreed with Transtel in its assertion that it was operating within its rights.
Mandla Ngcobo, Telkom`s group executive for legal services, says it is clear that the High Court did not consider the merits of the case, but referred it to ICASA for determination, as Transtel has in the interim filed a complaint against Telkom at ICASA.
"Had the High Court considered the merits of the case, we are convinced that a different decision would have been made," Ngcobo says.
"Despite the fact that Telkom`s five-year period of exclusivity has come to an end, a second public switched telecommunication services (PSTS) has not yet been licensed and Telkom accordingly is the only entity licensed to provide PSTS, including international telecommunication services to and from SA."
An independent attorney says the court ruling confirms that disputes about what is permitted in terms of the Telecommunications Act should be referred to ICASA, which is the specialist regulatory body authorised to determine the legality of the telecommunication services provided by a particular party.
It also implies that Telkom may not unilaterally disconnect telecommunication services to parties which it determines are acting in contravention of the Telecommunications Act.
Ngcobo says Transnet`s private telecommunications network (PTN) licence does not permit it to provide an international telecommunication service to convey third-party telecommunications traffic, which originated outside SA and outside its PTN, through its PTN to a point within the PSTN in SA.
He added that the commercial agreement between Telkom and Transnet also precluded Transnet from using the facilities and services it leased from Telkom to provide private network facilities to any of its customers, to bypass Telkom`s PSTN or to carry voice traffic on behalf of any customer.
"While Telkom will honour the interim order of the High Court not to suspend Transnet`s services until a final determination has been made, we will bring an urgent application against Transnet should it continue with this illegal activity," says Ngcobo.
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