By Lisa Burroughes, 27 August 1999 12:17
NEWS The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will appeal against a high court ruling which prevents it from making amendments to the terms and conditions of next-generation wireless network licences. The DTI said operators wanting to bid for a UMTS licence would have to allow a new entrant to 'piggy-back' on their networks. But One2One, backed by rival Orange, won a judicial review in August after claiming the DTI's move transgressed the 1984 Telecoms Act, which states that any changes to licence conditions must first go before the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (now called the Competition Commission). The government maintains that having a roaming condition is essential for any new entrants wanting to bid for a licence. In a prepared statement, it said: "Current mobile operators who do not bid for a third-generation licence or are unsuccessful in the auction will not have to accept the roaming." The two parties are set to meet in the high court again in the autumn.
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