GUERNSEY Airtel could have its licence withdrawn if it fails to launch its mobile phone network by 31 March.
The Office of Utility Regulation said yesterday that Airtel had breached its licence and the company had been told it must start operating by then or risk sanctions.
The direction follows Airtel’s failure to start a service by 15 December.
‘We have considered carefully the responses to the proposed direction and believe that the timetable we are now setting is reasonable,’ said OUR director-general John Curran.
‘Airtel knows what it must do and is aware of the likely outcome should it fail to achieve this.
‘Airtel must deliver on its commitment to deliver world-class services to the people of Guernsey and it has until 31 March to do so.’
Sanctions could range from a financial penalty to the withdrawal of licence and Mr Curran said he would not speculate on what, if any, it might be.
Airtel accepted yesterday that it had left itself open to sanctions.
‘We at Airtel understand and accept the OUR’s directive and we look forward to bringing real competition to the island and will launch our 2G and 3G sevices before 31 March,’ said chief executive officer Iain Williams.
The OUR is required by law to conduct a two-stage process when a licence condition has potentially been breached.
The first is to determine if a breach has definitely occurred. If it has, the second is to give the licensee a period to rectify that breach.
‘While I acknowledge the commitment shown by Airtel and the difficulties faced in setting up a network, the deadline for the rollout of 2G and 3G services has been missed,’ said Mr Curran.
‘From our perspective, this needs to be addressed by the company so that consumers can benefit from the real competition they will bring to the market.’
The OUR’s report into the licence breach is available on its website at www.regutil.gg or by contacting the office on 711120.
Article posted on 29th January, 2008 - 12.00am
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