Telkom fixed line monopoly won’t be protected: DoC

Jan Vermeulen

Jan Vermeulen is a technology journalist and web developer at MyBroadband. After receiving a Computer Engineering degree at the University of Pretoria he worked at...

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The Department of Communications is wary to comment on Telkom profits in the wake of local loop unbundling, but says it won’t protect the incumbent’s monopoly

The Department of Communications (DoC) is cautious about commenting on whether they are concerned about Telkom’s profits in the light of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (ICASA) plans for local loop unbundling (LLU).

Government owns 50% of Telkom’s shares, and in November 2011 ICASA published its findings after conducting a round of public hearings on LLU.

In these findings, ICASA said that from the middle of 2012 it would conduct a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) of the cost and benefits of the various LLU models.

Minister of Communications, Dina Pule, said that they are wary to address the issues around Telkom and its monopoly until they receive the outcome of the RIA from ICASA.

However, the DoC will not protect Telkom’s monopoly, deputy director-general Themba Phiri said.

According to Phiri, when the state issued LLU policy directive it was showing its intention to promote a pro-competitive market.

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Tags: Dina Pule, Headline, ICASA, Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, LLU, local loop unbundling, regulatory impact assessment, RIA, telkom, Themba Phiri