The Pretoria High Court has ruled against Telkom in its bid to have the sale, distribution and use of Leased-Cost Routing (LCR) equipment prohibited.
Least cost routing systems enable customers to connect GSM-based equipment to a PABX which can then take advantage of the better call rates offered when dialling from one cellular device to another or between numbers on the same cellular network.
The decision, with costs, ruled in favour of MTN, Vodacom, Autopage Cellular, Nashua Mobile, Nedtel, Orion Telecom and other players in South Africa’s cellular industry.
In his landmark ruling, Judge IWB de Villiers said, “There is no statutory provision which makes the Act of such a connection unlawful.”
The CEO of Altech (ALT), Craig Venter, says he is pleased with the High Court ruling.
“This is a victory, not only for us, but also for the consumer,” said Venter whose wholly-owned Altech subsidiary, Autopage Cellular, is a major provider of LCR in South Africa.
“This judgement allows Autopage Cellular to continue and in fact intensify and expand its thrust into this important market,” said Venter.
He explained that LCR allowed businesses to utilise devices connected to their PABX’s to route calls to cellular phones at the most economical call rate.
Venter said the ruling had cast aside months of doubt and speculation concerning the fate of LCR in South Africa.
“This decision shows that the telecoms market is becoming more liberalised.”
He added that LCR was already so popular that the majority of South Africa’s largest companies would now continue to enjoy the benefits of affordable communications.
Managing Director of Autopage Cellular, Stephen Blewett, concurs and adds that Autopage Cellular is all about “getting it right” for subscribers. “In my view, the court ruling creates the right environment for us to continue to provide service excellence to all our subscribers at the best prices.” – I-Net Bridge