Icasa’s approach to Vodacom-Neotel merger ‘sensible’
THE Independent Communications Authority of SA’s (Icasa’s) approach to its role in a proposed merger between Vodacom and Neotel was sensible and “perfectly responsible”, the Pretoria High Court heard yesterday.
The proposed merger between the cellular giant and the fixed-line operator has met with fierce resistance from Vodacom’s competitors, who argue that it will give Vodacom access to much sought-after radio spectrum, enabling it to provide super-fast 4G data download.
They also argued this would harm competition in the mobile market irreparably and, therefore, the interests of consumers.
They are challenging an aspect of the merger — Icasa’s decision to approve the transfer of control of crucial licences from Neotel’s shareholders to Vodacom’s.
If the case, brought by MTN, Cell C, Telkom and Dimension Data, succeeds, it could mean a further delay to the proposed merger, which has already been subjected to scrutiny by the regulators for more than a year.
Later this month, the Competition Tribunal will hold public hearings on it.
David Unterhalter SC, on behalf of Vodacom and Neotel, rejected the argument that Icasa had unlawfully failed to consider what the transfer would mean for competition.
He said, in fact, Icasa had considered competition concerns when they were raised. But it had decided to defer to the competition authorities’ process on the same issues.
All the parties involved in the case were facing a “monumental exercise” before the Competition Tribunal in a few weeks’ time, he said. “It is not just sensible, but perfectly responsible to say: let the (tribunal process) take its course.
“To determine the same issue twice is not a sensible thing to do,” Mr Unterhalter said.
Icasa was not “washing its hands” of the competition issues, he said. It was participating in the tribunal’s process and would be lending its expertise to the tribunal. There was nothing irrational about this, as claimed by MTN.
Mr Unterhalter said that considering whether the transfer would promote competition was just one of 26 listed objects the regulator could consider under the Electronic Communications Act.
If Icasa were rigidly required to give effect to every one of these, in every decision it made, it would be unworkable, he said.