Data and Voice Services Extended to December Eighth

Rodwell Williams

Senior Counsel Rodwell Williams, representing B.T.L., laid out the fundamental principle behind B.T.L.’s move to terminate the agreement.  He says that Speednet purchased the service for private use then turned around and made it available to its subscribers.

Rodwell Williams, Attorney for BTL

“It is a dispute that has to do primarily with a fundamental question in terms of telecommunication law and practice, whether in the absence of what the law calls an infrastructure sharing agreement, whether a competitor, licensee can purchase what you generally call a telecommunication service, which means it’s a service not governed by infrastructure sharing arrangement between licensee.  Whether when you purchase that kind of service, just like the service any normal consumer who is not a licensee would purchase.  When a licensee does that and then uses that service not for its own purposes, its own use, say Smart purchase a service from BTL using a BTL land line to make a telephone call and so on, that’s for its own use; however, when you purchase a service and you then use it not for your own use but to on-sell as it were to the public at large, you are then obviously competing with your fellow licensee.  And the fundamental distinction there and the issue here will be whether that service sold to Smart was in the nature of a telecom service which means that if your licensee purchases it you may not then seek to use it except for your own purpose.  You can’t use it to on-sell to customers and thereby undercut your competitor.”

The matter is set to be heard before Justice Griffith on December eight.