COAI To Move SC On WLL

Basic operators planning to roll out WLL have to wait a little longer to know whether they have the right to offer the service. The Cellular Operators Association of India has decided to approach the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the new service.

The move comes in the wake of a recent decision of the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to quash cellular operators' appeal against WLL limited mobility.

In a strongly worded statement, COAI today said the SC would be approached to appeal against the wrongful, illegal and unlicensed entry of fixed operators in the mobile services sector through the back door without paying any entry fee and without being subject to the terms and conditions applicable to licensed cellular operators.

The decision may yet again put the brakes on basic operators' plans to introduce WLL in their local area of operations.

Operators like Tata, Reliance, Shyam and HFCL had to stall their plans to roll out WLL services because of the year-long legal wrangle with cellular operators.

The TDSAT decision had given them a breather, but now with a fresh case being filed by COAI, things may come to a standstill once again.

In its decision, TDSAT had stated that the scope of the jurisdiction of a court or a tribunal to interfere with a policy decision taken by the government was limited.

The tribunal had also said the government was entitled to deviate from a policy decision and adopt another policy in the public interest, if the situation so demanded. Cellular operators said the fresh appeal was not challenging the government's right to change a policy or to promote the march of technology or act in the public interest, but was seeking to enforce the provisions of National Telecom Policy, 1999.

Mobile operators have said the "so-called" affordability of WLL mobility services is based on one single criterion -- local call charges will be Rs 1.20 per three minutes. This will not be sustainable and is only an introductory deception, they maintain.