New Delhi: The Supreme Court today (Nov 7) deferred till November 10 the hearing on appeals filed by cellular operators against a telecom tribunal verdict upholding the Government decision to permit basic operators to offer WLL (Wireless in Local Loop) mobile services.

The bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare and Justice S B Sinha directed the matter to be listed on November 10 before a bench headed by Justice S Rajendra Babu.

Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has challenged the August 8 decision of TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal) given by its "two non-judicial members", saying that the minority verdict of tribunal's Chairman Justice D P Wadhwa terming WLL services as illegal should be upheld as it was the correct interpretation of the NTP-99 (New Telecom Policy).

COAI said Justice Wadhwa's view was "the first definitive pronouncement in relation to the rights of licensee and the obligation of a licensor and as to whether Government as a licensor can unilaterally and arbitrarily alter the basic and fundamental terms of the licence agreement."

COAI, which has been involved in legal battle against WLL services for the past two years now, has raised questions of law as to "whether WLL now found permissible by the majority judgement is in effect a permission to provide cellular mobile service and therefore contrary to New Telecom Policy of 1999."

PTI