Msunduzi Municipality v Dark Fibre Africa (RF) (Pty) Limited

Dark Fibre Africa (RF) (Pty) Ltd, the respondent, is a licensed electronic communications network services licensee under the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005 (ECA). It notified Msunduzi Municipality of its intention to construct an underground fibre optic cable network along municipal streets in Pietermaritzburg. Over approximately 16 months, Dark Fibre Africa sought municipal approval for its wayleave and construction plans, but the municipality failed to grant approval and later imposed a moratorium on wayleave applications. Relying on section 22 of the ECA, Dark Fibre Africa commenced construction without municipal consent. The municipality sought an urgent interdict and declaratory relief, contending that Dark Fibre Africa required its permission to exercise section 22 rights, alternatively that the decision to commence construction was unlawful and reviewable under PAJA.

The appeal was dismissed with costs, including the costs of two counsel.

This case confirms and reinforces the authoritative interpretation of section 22 of the Electronic Communications Act, establishing that electronic communications licensees do not require landowner or municipal consent to deploy network infrastructure. It clarifies the relationship between section 22 rights, municipal regulatory powers, and administrative law, and limits the ability of municipalities to obstruct telecommunications infrastructure rollout through wayleave procedures or by-laws.