The cables that could decide who OWNS the ground beneath your feet.
IN A BOMBSHELL LEGAL BATTLE that will SHATTER South African suburbs, a corporate Goliath is waging war for the very dirt under your home. Telkom is using shock legal tactics to CLAIM OWNERSHIP of underground ducts and manholes in thousands of private estates—infrastructure PAID FOR by homeowners. This isn’t about cables; it’s about an audacious corporate power grab to hold MILLIONS hostage to slower speeds and higher prices.
TWO CONFLICTING court rulings have plunged the nation’s fibre future into chaos. In one corner, a judge declared Homeowners’ Associations have the power to grant access. In the other, a ruling FORCES small competitors to kneel before Telkom and pay exorbitant leases for space in pipes their own residents funded. The Supreme Court of Appeal will now decide: do you own your property, or does a telecoms giant have a SECRET DEED to your land?
Insiders reveal Telkom’s strategy is a CHOKEHOLD on competition. By weaponizing old agreements and lobbying compliant regulators, they are SYSTEMATICALLY crushing innovative smaller ISPs. The result? A return to a digital dark age where choice is eradicated and bills skyrocket. One legal expert warned this sets a “DANGEROUS PRECEDENT” where corporations can claim “servitudinal rights” over community-built assets.
This is a DIRECT ASSAULT on private property rights and market freedom. While judges acknowledge the “reality” that HOAs own the ducts, they are still being strong-armed into granting Telkom control. The upcoming appeals will determine if South Africans are truly free in their own homes, or merely tenants on a network tyrant’s domain. The truth is, you may not even own the hole in your own ground.
Author: Kayitsi.com
