The triangular slug-fest between the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (SATRA), Telkom and the South African Value-Added Network Association (SAVA) is set to escalate.
SATRA has refused to comment on the matter, saying that it is unable to respond to hearsay and that no documentation has been received from Telkom regarding the matter. But the authority did say it had been served by lawyer`s letters from Telkom and now considers the matter sub judice.
Meanwhile, SAVA is also considering legal action, and says it sees no ground for compromise. Mike van den Bergh, SAVA chairman, says the association will in all likelihood not be drawn into a legal dispute between Telkom and SATRA, but will probably look at restraining Telkom by court interdict in a separate action.
SAVA has responded strongly to the Telkom assertion that virtual private networks (VPNs) are being operated illegally under the guise of value-added networks (VANs).
"The fact of the matter is that Telkom has blatantly ignored a clear ruling by SATRA, and is continuing to act as though it is the regulator, rather than as merely a licensed player which must itself abide by its own licence conditions," says Van den Berg. He adds that the majority of VANs providers are still operating under contractual agreement with Telkom while competing with its own VANs company. Again SATRA comes under fire, as Van den Bergh says revised VANs licences have not yet been issued by the authority.
He also believes Telkom is in "blatant contravention" of the SATRA ruling it said it would honour. The SATRA section 53 determination ordered the company to refrain from "making statements to VANs customers regarding the legal status of VANs operators". Van den Bergh says the Telkom position that value-added network suppliers providing VPN services are doing so illegally has already breached the order.
Meanwhile, the entire VAN business sector is being harmed by the dispute, SAVA says. "Telkom`s recent actions have severely harmed this vibrant and vital industry," says Van den Bergh. He contends that the stakes are higher than the future of companies in the industry. Most of the business-to-business e-commerce transactions and financial services offerings in SA use VANs for some part of their offerings. It is this multi-billion rand industry that could hang in the balance.
Further action is expected as soon as the various sides have consulted their legal advisors.
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