Telecontract states disruptions are causing revenue loss and undermining its business operations after long-standing interconnect agreement flounders in Zimbabwe
Justice Joseph Chilimbe, sitting in the Commercial Division in Harare, dismssed objections by Econet and ordered the case be treated as urgent, according to this report in NewZimbabwe.com.
The dispute is about an interconnection agreement, signed in 2011, under which Econet and Telecontract and Econet swap voice traffic between their networks for inbound and outbound call termination.
Telecontract sought an interim court order to force Econet to restore full interconnection services, accusing it of unauthorised restriction on its network traffic, until the regulator can resolve the dispute. The regulator is the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).
The arrangement had run smoothly for years to the benefit of both parties, Telecontract said but a dispute arose in January when Telecontract noticed sudden disruption to traffic on the network. Telecontract investigated and established that the cause was not its own systems and contacted Econet’s CEO.
As it received no response, the matter was escalated to POTRAZ in early February but the regulator is yet to rule on the matter. Telecontract approached the court because it says it is suffering significant financial harm after a 17% drop in traffic.
Econet says the restrictions are for legitimate reasons – to avoid a kind of fraud known as refiling – and that the matter is not urgent. Some blocked calls have now been cleared but others are unresolved, and Econet said it would continue monitoring and act if suspicious activities were detected.
Read more here.
