[dropcap]T[/dropcap]elkom said on Wednesday that it has won a “landmark” case, with costs, against rival Vodacom at the high court in the Western Cape over the latter’s use of the former’s ducts in a residential estate.
In a statement, Telkom said it brought an urgent application against Vodacom over its “unlawful use of its infrastructure” in the Dennegeur Estate on Bizweni Avenue in Dennegeur, near Cape Town.
“Our concern was that Vodacom unlawfully accessed Telkom’s duct infrastructure and we requested the court to order Vodacom to remove its cabling from our ducts,” Telkom said in the statement.
According to the judgment, Telkom claimed that Vodacom and the estate “unlawfully deprived it of its undisturbed possession of ducts, manholes, manhole covers and copper cables that make up the electronic communication facilities as well as a communications network located on the estate”.
Vodacom allegedly installed fibre micro-ducts into Telkom’s 110mm ducts that formed part of the latter’s network in the estate. “That was done without the required consent of Telkom,” the judgment said.
Judge Vincent Suldanha said Telkom had established its possession of the communications facilities on the property and that the conduct of both Vodacom and the estate constituted “an unlawful deprivation of such possession”.
“Telkom is pleased that the court ruled in our favour and agreed that our infrastructure may not be accessed without following prescribed regulatory process.”
Vodacom has been asked for comment. — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media
- Read the full judgment (PDF)
