ALTECH CEO Craig Venter says his decision to instigate legal action against Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri and the industry regulator is a matter of principle to stop them riding roughshod over acceptable practices. <\/p>\n
Altech’s Autopage Cellular division has lodged papers in the high court against the minister, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) and Icasa chairman Paris Mashile to halt steps to modernise all existing telecommunication licences. Autopage also served summons on 23 players offering voice and data services, including Internet Solutions, Spescom and Gateway Communications.<\/p>\n
Autopage is applying for an urgent interdict to stop the licences being converted under the Electronic Communications Act. Venter said issues needed clarifying before any new licences were issued. <\/p>\n
“There have been grey areas which are very fuzzy for the last two years,” he said. “The process needs to be done properly, and it has been flawed. Altech feels strongly about this, and we are not going to back down.”<\/p>\n
A vital issue is whether private operators will have the right to build networks or still be forced to lease bandwidth from larger players such as Telkom and Neotel. That seems to depend on whether they get an Individual Electronic Communications Network Services licence, which lets them build infrastructure, or an Individual Electronic Communications Services licence, which does not.<\/p>\n
The law says the new licences must grant the operators rights no less favourable than they already hold, so Altech wants clarity on whether its existing Value-Added Network Services (Vans) licence gives it the right to build its own network. <\/p>\n
The minister said originally that existing Vans licence holders could build their own networks, then she backtracked, Venter said. “There was a statement that Vans could self-provide. Are they saying they have changed their minds?” <\/p>\n
Some larger players have apparently received a quiet indication that their licences will be converted into the full build-your-own version. Yet Icasa has said operators must apply for those licences, with no guarantee of success.<\/p>\n
Being granted a licence to self-provide does not necessarily mean a company will actually do so, especially if it is a relatively small player. But having the option to do so would give it greater bargaining power with the larger carriers when it negotiates to lease bandwidth. <\/p>\n
“Altech doesn’t stand to gain or lose a hell of a lot through this application. But if we feel strongly about something that’s not being done correctly we have a moral obligation to stand up and say this is wrong,” Venter said. That was to protect not only Altech and its shareholders but also smaller players that lacked the financial resources to object and say “follow the process correctly”, he said.<\/p>\n
Vox Telecom is one of the larger players that received notice of the legal action last week. Vox chairman Tony van Marken said it would oppose the request for an interdict to halt the process. “Like other value-added network service providers, we have participated and responded properly. We don’t understand the logic behind Autopage’s action.”<\/p>\n