South Africa's Competition Tribunal has fined fixed-line operator Telkom R449 million ($55 million) on Tuesday for 'bullying' its competitors in a market abuse case stretching back to 2004.

The case specifically looked at the period between 1999 and 2004, a time in which Telkom was a monopoly provider of fixed-line telecommunications services in the country.

“The tribunal concluded that Telkom leveraged its upstream monopoly in the facilities market to advantage its own subsidiary in the competitive value-added network service (Vans) market,” the regulatory body has said in a statement.

“Telkom’s conduct caused harm to both competitors and consumers alike and impeded competition and innovation in the dynamic Vans market.”

However, the result is likely to be seen as a victory for Telkom.

South Africa's competition watchdog had originally sought a fine of R3.5 billion in the case, which the struggling company has said would be "catastrophic" and jeopardise its business.