Telenor seeks help from Norway to protect Indian investment (Norway, India)
Following the Supreme Court ruling in India wherein it revoked 122 2G licences, telecommunications company Telenor has turned towards the government in Norway to help protect the future of its US$ 2.9 billion investment in India. Telenor controls a 67.25 per cent equity stake in Unitech Wireless and offers nation-wide mobile services under the brand name Uninor.
According to reports, Rigmor Aasrud, IT Minister, Norway met with India’s Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal to arrive at Telenor’s future in the country following the cancellation of the licences. After the meeting Aasrud said that they had a good, fruitful and constructive meeting with the telecom minister and they took up Telenor’s case along with other issues.
Kapil Sibal stated that both the IT minister and the Telenor official met him to share their perceptions and they had a dialogue on this issue. He told them that the SC verdict will bring clarity to the sector, the sector is robust and enough spectrum is available. Further, the National Telecom Policy 2011 which will be put out will be fair and robust.
Sibal added that India’s market is full of opportunities and no-one should be in doubt on the investments to come into India.
Sigve Brekke , managing director, Uninor has said that they are talking to the government because they need to protect their investment and they also need to make sure that there is a framework for continuing their operations in the country.
Lawyers say Etisalat’s deal violated foreign investment rules (India)
A lawyer for the federal investigative agency has stated that Etisalat’s 2008 deal to acquire a stake in an Indian telecoms firm, Swan Telecom, violated Indian rules on foreign investment and foreign exchange.
The federal investigators are probing into a multi-billion-dollar telecoms licensing scam. The Supreme Court is monitoring the probe by the federal agency.
Vodafone still considers no tax to pay (India)
Vodafone has stated that it continues to believe that it had no tax liability over its 2007 purchase of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd’s mobile business in India.
Vodafone, which has been fighting a $2.5 billion tax bill in India over the deal, stated its position had not changed with regard to the tax case.
According to the company, every adviser they have consulted, both during the transaction and since, is in unanimous agreement that no tax liability should arise.
India’s Supreme Court will hear the tax case on July 19 and Vodafone has stated thet it would continue to defend its position vigorously.
SC directs TDSAT to decide Idea’s plea on 3G allocation (India)
The Supreme Court has asked the telecom tribunal TDSAT to decide the plea of Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular against DoT to issue it 3G spectrum in Punjab where the allocation has been pending because of Idea’s merger with Spice Telecom.
A bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly asked the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal to take a decision on the plea of Idea.
As per the bench, it is related with 3G spectrum allocation and it should be dealt with separately.
The TDSAT had stopped hearing after the Attorney General had mentioned before the Tribunal that the Supreme Court had restrained all courts from passing any order on allocation of spectrum.
Following that, Idea had approached the Supreme Court seeking its clarification on the issue.
US Supreme Court rules against AT&T corporate privacy rights
The US Supreme Court has ruled that AT&T Inc and other corporations do not have personal privacy rights to prevent disclosure of federal government records about them.
The Justice unanimously overturned a ruling by a U.S. Appeals court for the telecommunications company that corporations can assert personal privacy in claiming that the records should be exempt from disclosure.
The high court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, agreed with the Obama administration’s argument that the personal privacy exemption under the Freedom of Information law applied only to individuals, not to corporations.
Public interest groups supported the government. They stated that under AT&T’s position, government records could be withheld about coal mine safety violations, offshore oil rig problems, dirty conditions at food manufacturing plants and questionable investment bank financial dealings.
Business groups supported AT&T and stated that corporations have long enjoyed a range of rights, including privacy rights. AT&T argued that the Federal Communications Commission should keep all the records secret during an investigation into its participation in the federal E-Rate program, which helps schools and libraries get Internet access.
AT&T told FCC in 2004 that an internal investigation had revealed certain irregularities in the company’s billings to a Connecticut school under the program.
India sets up JPC for telecoms scandal
India’s Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh has agreed to set up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to investigate the ongoing telecoms scandal that has hit the country.
The setting up of a JPC was a key demand of the opposition politicians who have effectively shut-down Parliament during the winter season.
According to Dr. Singh, they can ill-afford a situation where Parliament is not allowed to function during the crucial budget session. It is in these special circumstances that their government agrees to the setting up of a JPC.
Dr Singh highlighted the efforts that were being taken to look into the 2G licenses scandal and reminded the politicians that the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe is being supervised by the Supreme Court.
The Prime Minister stated that the UPA government is committed to root out corruption and has acted expeditiously and transparently in this direction. Their government believed that as all effective steps were being taken, they might have been able to persuade the opposition not to insist on a JPC. They could not succeed in spite of their sincere efforts.
UK’s Supreme Court to allow Tweeting in Court room
The UK’s highest legal authority, the fairly recently created Supreme Court has stated that it will allow the use of Twitter and text messages during court cases.
Traditionally, broadcasting live from within a court was forbidden, although there have been some recent high-profile cases where Judges permitted the use of Twitter, hence the latest decision from the Supreme Court.
Because cases before the Supreme Court do not involve interaction with witnesses or jurors, and because there is rarely any reason why what is said in court should not be placed immediately in the public domain, the Justices of the Supreme Court stated that they are content with legal teams, journalists and members of the public communicating to the outside word what is happening in the courtroom.
Important exceptions include cases where there are formal reporting restrictions in place, family cases involving the welfare of a child, and cases where publication of proceedings might prejudice a pending jury trial. People attending such cases will be informed by notices placed at the doors of the courtroom that restrictions are in place.
According to Lord Phillips, President of the Supreme Court, the rapid development of communications technology brings with it both opportunities and challenges for the justice system. An undoubted benefit is that regular updates can be shared with many people outside the court, in real time, which can enhance public interest in the progress of a case and keep those who are interested better informed.
They are fortunate that, by the time a case reaches the Supreme Court there is very seldom any reason for any degree of confidentiality, so that questions about what should and should not be shared with those outside the courtroom do not usually arise. This means that they can offer a green light to tweeting and other forms of communication, as long as this does not disrupt the smooth running of the court.
They noted though that the guidance is limited to the Supreme Court because of its unique role as the highest appeal court in the land. Different considerations apply to other courts, for a range of legal reasons.
Supreme Court issues notice to eleven telecos (India)
India’s Supreme Court has issued notices to the Central Government and 11 private telecoms operators on a petition which seeks to cancel those 2G spectrum licences it claims were handed to companies either ineligible for such concessions or those that failed to fulfill launch obligations.
According to reports, the court has given all respondents three weeks to respond in the matter, after the issue was raised by an independent body, the Centre for Public Interest Litigation. It is understood that the court has also called for a response as to why the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has remained silent regarding allegations of delays by cellcos in meeting their launch obligations, with it adding the regulator as a respondent in the case.
The eleven companies named in the case are: Loop Telecom, Etisalat DB (Swan Telecom), Vodafone Essar, STel, Unitech Wireless (Uninor), Videocon Telecommunications, Idea Cellular (including Spice), Allianz Infratech, Tata Teleservices, Sistema Shyam Teleservices and Dishnet Wireless (a unit of Aircel).
