New Delhi:The Delhi High Court Friday dismissed the petition of GSM operators association - the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) - challenging the government's decision to allow use of dual technology for mobile services by CDMA operators and revised spectrum allocation norms.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs.50,000 on each of the six operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, who had filed the petition.

The money will be deposited with the Delhi High Court Legal Service Authority.

The verdict was pronounced by Justice Gita Mittal. The case will also be heard in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appelate Tribunal (TDSAT).

The Department of Telecom (DoT) in Nov 2007 decided to permit allocation of dual spectrum under the same licence to CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) operators.

By virtue of this crossover technology policy, CDMA operators such as Reliance Communications (RCom) were allocated GSM spectrum.

To protect the "accrued and vested rights of the GSM industry to scarce and precious GSM spectrum", the Cellular Operators Association Nov 22, 2007, filed a petition that this decision be quashed.

The cellular operators association had sought a stay on the allocation of GSM spectrum to CDMA operators, a prayer that was rejected by the TDSAT last December.

After the last hearing Nov 24 last year, the TDSAT has been unable to hear the matter due to non-availability of members.

The COAI then turned to the Delhi High Court for interim relief.

Source : IANS