Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Dec 18, 2002 |
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Telecommunications Info-Tech - Telecommunications Both parties claim victory Our Bureau
NEW DELHI, Dec. 17 IRONIC as it may sound, both the telecom siblings - cellular operators and basic service operators - who have been at each other's throats over the issue of limited mobility services have claimed "victory" over the Supreme Court decision to refer the issue back to the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The cellular operators have noted that by asking TDSAT to re-examine the issue of a "level playing field", the apex court has vindicated their contention that the current policy was biased. The basic operators, on the other hand, have opined that by refusing to order a stay on the launch of limited mobility services the court has given its stamp of approval, more so by stating that it is seen to be in the interest of the consumer. "We are very happy and encouraged by this judgement which is a great vindication of all the issues and points we had been raising earlier; we are very encouraged that we shall have a fair hearing of all the serious issues involved which had gone unexamined or were inadequately examined so far," according to Mr T.V. Ramachandran, Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). He also noted that although the basic operators had been allowed to roll out limited mobility services, it would be at their own risk since the court had clearly specified that it would be subject to the final outcome of TDSAT. According to Mr S.C. Khanna, Secretary General, Association of Basic Telecom Operators (ABTO), "By not staying the services, the Supreme Court has accepted the concept of limited mobile services. It will now be much easier for TDSAT to go through the pros and cons and give a verdict. All the basic operators including the Tatas and Reliance will now go ahead as per their plans announced earlier to launch the services in various parts of the country and that is the most important part of it," he said.
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