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THEE - The Competition Commission - Notice of upcoming competition Tribunal hearings NOTICE OF UPCOMING COMPETITION TRIBUNAL HEARINGS (Following is a guideline for journalists. The information can be used but please do not quote Nandi Mokoena or the Tribunal) Cases Competition Commission v Telkom SA Limited Date 17 to 28 October 2011 and 1 to 9 December 2011 Time 10H00 Place The dti Campus 77 Meintjies Street Mulayo Building, (Block C) Sunnyside, Pretoria
Tel: +27 (0) 12 394 3300 Fax: 27 (0) 12 394 0169 Website: http://www.comptrib.co.za The Telkom hearing begins Starting on Monday 17 October the Competition Tribunal will hear the Competition Commission`s case against Telkom. The Commission referred this case to the Tribunal in February 2004 after it had investigated and concluded that Telkom was abusing its dominance by charging excessive prices, refusing access to an essential facility and engaging in price discrimination thereby making its downstream rivals less competitive in the telecommunications market. Telkom has denied these allegations. This case is one of two main complaints that the Commission has referred to the Tribunal against Telkom. The current case was referred in 2004, while the second case was referred later, in 2009. Both cases were brought about by complaints against Telkom from various Value Added Network Service Providers (VANS) and Internet Service Providers (ISP`s). The 2004 case in particular was brought by 21 complainants which included the South African VANS Association, the Internet Service Providers Association, AT&T Global Network Services South Africa, Internet Solutions and Omnilink. The history of the current Telkom case dates back to February 2004 when, following the Commission`s referral to the Competition Tribunal, Telkom challenged the competition authorities` jurisdiction in the case - a matter which lasted 5 years until this point was rejected by the Supreme Court of Appeals in November 2009. Thereafter applications followed in which the Commission, on two occasions, sought to amend its founding papers. In the first of the Commission`s bids to amend its papers, the Commission sought to clarify the range of VANS to which its case applied, clarify the virtual private networks (VPN) it referred to in its founding papers and to limit the period of its complaint to the end of 2004. Subject to certain commitments by the Commission, Telkom did not oppose these amendments and the Tribunal granted the Commission its request. In its second bid the Commission sought to add or clarify its allegation that Telkom had also been squeezing its rivals margins in the telecommunications market. The Commission maintained that this amendment was related to its earlier allegations of price discrimination and was thus not a new addition to the case. Telkom, however, opposed the application saying that the proposed amendment was trying to introduce a fresh complaint regarding an alleged margin squeeze in circumstances where that complaint did not form part of the original complaint referral of 2004. Following a hearing into this matter, the Tribunal did not grant the Commission its second request to amend its papers. The Tribunal will now hear the Commission`s referral from 17 to 28 October and continue from 1 to 9 December. It expects to hear witnesses and expert testimony from both the Commission and Telkom over this period and thereafter must decide if Telkom has indeed abused its dominance in the telecommunications market. In its founding papers the Commission has asked for a penalty amounting to 10% of Telkom`s 2003 turnover. Issued By: Nandi Mokoena PR Consultant: Competition Tribunal Cell: +27 (0) 82 399 1328 E-mail: NandisileM@live.co.za On Behalf Of: Lerato Motaung Registrar: Competition Tribunal Tel: (012) 394 3355 Cell: +27 (0) 82 556 3221 E-Mail: LeratoM@comptrib.co.za Date: 13/10/2011 14:54:46 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on, information disseminated through SENS.
