LEGAL

Legal Issues

Whether you are working as a telecommunications operator, a public interest organisation, product vendor, or integrator you are likely to be affected by the COVID19 virus. Over the past few weeks several new laws and notices were published by several government departments, which has an impact on your company, and you are likely trying to analyze and interpret statutes.

Since the task of statutory interpretation can be quite nuanced and complicated, the legal team is here to help you to discern the meaning of a statute and its implications in an attempt to remove any unclear or ambiguous context.

In addition the Legal Stream will make submissions to the relevant authorities to gain clarity in areas where you may be affected.

Notice by the Legal Stream Head

The Covid-19 Industry Task Team is a collaborative effort involving numerous entities holding licenses issued by ICASA as well as non-licensees such as platform and software and related services suppliers. The purpose of the collaboration is exclusively linked to the need to support government’s response to the Covid-19 national disaster as expressed in relevant directions and regulations issued under the Disaster Management Act.

The fact that some participants are horizontal competitors or involved in vertical relationships means that there is a need to at all times be aware of the provisions of the Competition Act and to take the basic steps required to comply with these provisions, particularly section 4 and section 5. Please consult your legal advisor in this regard.

Further, by instruction of the Legal Stream you are reminded of the following:

During or after ICT Task Team meetings do not discuss:

  • Commercially sensitive business information, e.g. costs and cost calculation methods
  • Output levels or sales volumes
  • Purchase or selling prices, pricing methods, discounts and rebate structures, future pricing plans
  • Profit margins or what constitutes a fair profit level
  • Which customers to serve or grant credit
  • Advertising policies that reinforce uniformity of prices and products
  • The allocation of market share or geographic regions
  • Problems that are company specific other than in the context of responding to Covid-19 issues

 

Please ensure that you review minutes or recordings made to ensure that these are an accurate reflection of events.