Telkom agrees to pay up

Telkom has announced that it had reached an agreement with the Competition Commission to pay a fine of R449-million that was awarded by the Competition Tribunal in August 2012.

The agreement was reached following discussions between Telkom and the Competition Commission aimed at arriving at a settlement regarding Telkom’s appeal and the Commission’s cross-appeal to the Competition Appeal Court.

The appeal and cross-appeal respectively concern a ruling delivered by the Competition Tribunal on 7 August 2012, relating to the case between Telkom and the South African Value Added Networks Services Association (SAVA) and various other complainants.

Telkom said in a statement today that the parties had reached agreement on 15 March to the effect that, subject to confirmation by the Competition Appeal Court (CAC), each party would withdraw its appeal and cross-appeal respectively and each party would pay its own costs.

The withdrawal of the appeal and cross-appeal was approved by the CAC on 12 April and the CAC’s confirmation was communicated to Telkom on 16 April 2013.

Telkom will therefore pay the fine of R449-million that was originally awarded by the Tribunal. The terms of the agreement provide for Telkom to pay 50% of the amount within six months of the date of the withdrawal (12 April 2013). The balance is to be paid within 18 months of the said date of the withdrawal.