Finally! The Competition Tribunal today fined Telkom R449 million for “abusing its dominance in the telecommunications market between 1999 and 2004.” The case began in 2002, with internet service providers alleging Telkom charged its competitors high prices for using its services, while charging much lower fees to its subsidiaries and its customers.
Half of the penalty is to be paid within six months of the tribunal’s decision, while the balance is payable within 12 months thereafter. The fine followed a decade-long investigation into the company’s practices. This immediately affected their JSE activity as well, with the share price falling this morning by 16c to R17,89.
As we speak, the government still owns a part of Telkom SA Ltd. But at least this is better than when it was an entirely state-run company. Telkom has also had financial troubles in recent years, and subscribers have increasingly dropped fixed telephone lines, the backbone of Telkom’s business, for mobile phones.
You can read the full judgement HERE.
[Source: Fin24]
