• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• Smartbuy

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Aug. 22 In a blow to GSM operators, the Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed their petition challenging the Government’s decision to allow Reliance Communications to offer both CDMA and GSM services under a single licence.

The High Court also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 each on six petitioners, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Idea Cellular and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The money will be deposited with the Delhi High Court Legal Service Authority.

The verdict was pronounced by Ms Justice Gita Mittal, who had reserved the judgment more than five months ago. In its petition, COAI had requested the court to quash DoT’s October 18 and 19, 2007 decisions to permit the use of dual technology and regulator TRAI’s recommendation of enhanced subscriber-linked criterion for allocation of additional spectrum.

COAI also questioned the events of October 18 and 19, 2007, and said that the Department of Telecom had shown undue haste and hurry in which an in-principle approval was given to Reliance Communications for offering GSM services.

With the High Court dismissing the case, almost all the hurdles for Reliance Communications’ foray into the GSM space have been removed. Other CDMA players, including Tata Teleservices and Shyam Telecom, will also benefit from Friday’s court order since they are also deploying dual technology.

Representing the CDMA operators, Mr S.C. Khanna, Secretary, Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India, said, “We are happy with the High Court’s order. The decision will pave the way for more competition in the GSM space and therefore better services for consumers.”

COAI’s hope would now rest on the telecom tribunal — Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal — which is also hearing the petition separately. The tribunal is scheduled to hear the case on September 4.

More Stories on : Telecommunications | Courts/Legal Issues | Regulatory Bodies & Rulings | Reliance Communications Ltd

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line