Telecommunications group Telkom has agreed to halt its application for an urgent interdict to prevent the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) from moving ahead with the spectrum auction in March.
The company said an agreement was reached with all the respondents on the need to expedite the hearing for Part B of Telkom’s two-part application.
Part A requests the court to urgently suspend the Invitations To Apply (ITAs) while the court deliberates on Part B of Telkom’s application which focuses on the merits of Telkom’s arguments against the ITA published on December 10, 2021.
“In line with the agreement between the parties, while we await the decision of the court on the proposed timelines for the hearing of the review, Telkom will be removing the hearing of Part A of its application from the urgent roll,” says Telkom regulatory and government relations group executive Dr Siyabonga Mahlangu.
Telkom reserves its rights to reinstate the matter on short notice should it become necessary.
Part A of Telkom’s two-part application was set to be heard on January 25.
Telkom has proposed that Part B of the application be heard on March 1 to 4 should the court be able to accommodate the request.
“Telkom is pleased with the cooperation it has received from the parties on this revised timeframe and expects the regulator to proceed mindful that the outcome of hearing of Part B of Telkom’s application will have material impact on the auction process,” Mahlangu concluded.