Digicel disappointed by court ruling

Telecommunications company Digicel says it is disappointed that the Supreme Court has refused its application seeking leave to proceed with its Judicial Review claim against the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).

Digicel was seeking to challenge the OUR’s determination of an interim mobile termination rate effective July 15.

But this morning Supreme Court Judge Ingrid Mangatal threw out Digicel’s application.

READ: LIME calls rate ruling a major victory

In a release a short while ago, Richard Fraser, the head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs for Digicel Jamaica, said the ruling was unfortunate.

“Clearly we are disappointed with today’s ruling as we maintain that the OUR ought to have adhered to the principles of natural justice and carried out some form of prior consultation on the issue before issuing its determination,” Fraser said.

Fraser also maintained that the OUR seems to have been granted too much power.

“We still harbour concerns regarding the unfettered powers granted to the regulator and intend to review matters with respect to same.”

In the release this morning, Digicel also sought to clarify that its issue is not with the rates but with the way in which the process was handled.

“The OUR determination was made in breach of the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness due to the OUR’s failure to engage in any consultation,” a Digicel spokesperson said.

radio@gleanerjm.com