ISPs accuse SA's Telkom of anticompetitive activities

14.12.2005
The Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) Wednesday lodged a broad-ranging complaint with the Competition Commission regarding Telkom's anticompetitive activities in the Internet services market.

A large number of Internet service providers (ISPs) compete with Telkom for the provision of Internet services. But at the same time, most ISPs are forced to obtain their underlying telecommunications services from Telkom.

"ISPA's complaint to the Competition Commission follows an increasing stream of complaints from ISPA's members," says Masedi Molosiwa, joint-chair of ISPA.

"From the smallest ISPs right through to the largest, the reports are the same: Telkom is using its dominant market position to take business away from other ISPs.

"We want the Competition Commission to take a good, hard look at the way the market is structured, and make sure that our members are able to compete fairly to provide reasonably priced services to their customers."

In the retail market, Telkom determines the price that resellers must pay for SAIX ADSL accounts. But it also competes directly with those resellers in the guise of TelkomInternet.