Cell companies appeal to SC against tribunal order on WLL
By Our Economy Bureau | 29 Oct 2003
New Delhi: Private cell companies have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the order of the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) that has given the green signal to limited mobility (WLL) services.
According to a statement from the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the petition seeks to uphold the minority judgement of the TDSAT, which had ruled that basic operators should not be allowed to offer WLL services, and that the decision to allow basic operators to provide the service was motivated by extraneous considerations to confer undue benefits.
COAI director-general T V Ramachandran says the industry had attempted to adopt a reconciliatory approach and reposed full faith in the government and the regulator and "tried in vain" for nearly three months to get the members' judgement enforced. "The basic operators appeal to the SC against the TDSAT judgement as it has left the industry with no option but to take appropriate legal counteraction to protect its stakeholders and consumers."
As
for the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India regarding unified licences and the level-playing
field between cellular and WLL operators, COAI is yet
to react, although the operators have expressed their
disappointment.
