The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has asked S Tel to continue offering telecom services despite its licenses being cancelled by the Supreme Court, say news reports.
Prior to this, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had directed the operator to continue its services, which was challenged by S Tel. According to TDSAT, though S Tel’s licenses were cancelled, this did not imply that the operator ignores its licenses obligations. In its order, TDSAT stated that as per the Supreme Court order, S Tel is supposed to continue offering telecom services till January, 2013. As per TRAI’s guidelines, the operator has to maintain and operate its network till the time its licences are operational.
In its order, TDSAT further observed that before discontinuing its services, an operator is required to give mandatory 60 days notice to the Department of Telecommunications and 30 days to its consumer. However, in this case S Tel failed to comply with these regulations.
