Cell cos appeal SC against govt decision

NEW DELHI: India's top court will hear on Monday an appeal by the private cellular industry seeking to revert to an earlier government licensing policy that provided separate permits for mobile and basic services.

Last month, the government brought mobile and basic phone services under a single permit in a bid to stoke growth and reduce massive litigation that has hobbled growth in the nascent industry.

T.V. Ramachandran, director-general of the Cellular Operators Association, told reporters on Friday the industry body had filed an application "to maintain the status quo regarding the number and type of cellular mobile licenses issued".

Cellular companies, who have invested more than $5 billion in the past nine years and lost $2 billion, say the unified license system is stacked against them as it allows basic operators to become full-fledged mobile firms.

Basic services firm Reliance Infocomm Ltd, the telecoms arm of petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries Ltd, has already paid 15.42 billion rupees to the government to move to a single licence.

Last month the cellular sector had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against a judgment of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal which had backed a controversial government policy to allow basic firms to offer limited radius mobile services.

Ramachandran said GSM firms want the government to hold back on issuing a unified licence to fixed-line players until the court decides on this petition.

Reuters