JUDGMENT

S.B. SINHA FOR SELF AND MR. P. K. RASTOGI, MEMBER The First Petitioner is an Association of Operators of Telecommunication Services using CDMA technology.

The petitioners Nos. 2 to 5 are licensees; licenses having been granted in their favour in terms of the Indian Telegraph Act , 1885 (hereinafter called and referred to for the sake of brevity as ‘the said Act’).

Facts

2. The Union of India adopted National Telecom Policy in the year 1994; pursuant to or in furtherance whereof, licenses were granted to the Cellular Operators on GSM technology (hereinafter called and referred to for the sake of brevity as ‘the Cellular Operators’).

3. Another National Telecom Policy was adopted in the year 1999 whereby and whereunder the Central Government intended to grant licenses also to the operators operating on CDMA technology.

4. Indisputably, the royalty for use of microwave frequency and backbone frequency used to be charged on a the basis of formula R = MWC.

5. It is stated that for effecting a call from the handset of a mobile, Base Trans Receiver Stations (BTSs) are required to be set up to transmit signals. Several BTSs are controlled by Base Station Controller (BSC), which in turn,