WLL-M fortunes hang on TDSAT word

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) will on Saturday rule if basic phone firms offering limited mobile services can use technology that could allow roaming, a lawyer said.

The decision will have a huge bearing on the fortunes of fixed-line telecoms firms such as Reliance Infocomm Ltd and Tata Teleservices Ltd, allowed by the government in 2001 to provide mobile services within city limits.

Private cellular firms had appealed to TDSAT to stop basic phone operators from using mobile switching centres as GSM firms fear they could compete on roaming.

Cellular companies say roaming and using such technology is barred under the terms of a basic licence but basic operators dispute that.

"The TDSAT will give its decision on Saturday at noon," a lawyer representing the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), who declined to be named, told Reuters on Friday.

The TDSAT settles legal disputes in the telecoms sector and its decisions can only be challenged in the Supreme Court, India's highest court.

Cellular firms offer seamless roaming services, which they see as a growing and lucrative business. The GSM sector is deep in the red and further competition in this segment by limited mobility services would only increase losses.

© Reuters