NamPower, Telecom, MTC given 30 days to revisit unfair agreement

The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) has given Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), Namibia Power Corperation ( NamPower ) and Telecom Namibia (TN) 30 days to find a find a solution to the prohibitive and unfair agreement that they signed in 2012 to exclussively share a dark optic cable to the detriment of other players.

The cable belongs to NamPower.

The NaCC said the tripertite agreeemnt entered into by the three violated competition laws.

An investigation was conducted in relation to an exclusive tripartite agreement entered into by the three parties on 1 June 2012 for the lease and use of the optic fibre cable by Telecom and MTC as joint operators.

The NaCC says the agreement granted Telecom and MTC exclusive access to this fibre for a decade, locking out competitors and creating an unfair business environment.

“Our investigation has revealed that this agreement, as it stands, significantly limits competition in the telecommunications sector. Clauses within the agreement, such as those regarding automatic renewals and priority access to future network expansions, appear to have been designed to maintain the dominance of Telecom and MTC,” says NaCC spokesperson Dina //Gowases.

She says the NaCC has found that competitors of the two telecommunication companies were offered access to NamPower’s network through a more expensive and less favourable service called Grid Online.

“By virtue of the agreement, MTC and Telecom were afforded dark fibre, while their competitors were afforded access in terms of the Grid Online service offering,” //Gowases says.

This means the agreement limited NamPower’s ability to grant other carriers access to its dark fibre.

According to the agreement, three out of six pairs of fibre core are exclusively leased to the joint operators.

This has left only three more pairs that NamPower can distribute among more than 50 telecommunications licence holders available in the market.

“The existence of the agreement made it impossible for NamPower to open up the market to the joint operators’ competitors on equal terms and conditions,” //Gowases says.

Telecom and MTC hold more than 80% of the telecommunications market, while NamPower has a dominant position in national data transmission.

The commission has now given the three companies 30 days to submit written responses or request an opportunity for oral presentations.

This process, as outlined in Section 36 of the Competition Act, allows the accused parties to defend their actions.

“We want to emphasise that no final decision has been made. We are committed to a fair and transparent process. We are also open to discussing possible settlement options with the involved parties to avoid further legal proceedings,” //Gowases says.

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