Consumers should have the choice of another mobile phone operator before Christmas following a Supreme Court ruling which has paved the way for fresh competition in the fast growing mobile phone market.
In a unanimous decision yesterday, the Supreme Court allowed an appeal by the telecoms regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, against a High Court order quashing her decision to award the third mobile phone licence to the US-Irish consortium, Meteor.
The Supreme Court found a claim by rival bidder, Orange, that the regulator had displayed bias and some form of xenophobic prejudice against the British operator, were "entirely misconceived" and the suggestion "strains credulity to breaking point".
"There was not a scintilla of evidence that the director, or any member of her staff or any of the consultants retained by her had any interest whatever in pecuniary or other nature in the outcome of the tender process," the court ruled.
Speaking after the judgment, Mr Sean Finlay, founder of Meteor Mobile - which will now be issued with a licence worth millions in potential revenue - said the company would roll out a network providing 80 per cent coverage of the population within nine months.
He said the network should be established in time for the Christmas period, enabling the company to cash in on buoyant sales over the holiday season.
Customers would benefit from a new range of mobile phone services with cheaper prices and better services, he said.
Recent figures suggest prices charged to customers by the two established mobile operators Eircell and Esat Digifone are among the highest in Europe.
Mr Finlay said the litigation, which took almost two years to complete, cost Meteor up to £100 million (€127 million) in lost revenue and investment. A spokesman for Meteor said there was no legal recourse open to the company to recover this loss.
Costs in the court case are estimated to run into millions of pounds and will be decided at a sitting of the Supreme Court on Monday. A statement issued by Orange said the company was disappointed by the ruling and needed time to consider it fully before making a detailed response.
The regulator, Ms Doyle, welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court. She said she would now make arrangements to issue the third licence, which she believed would bring about a significant reduction in mobile charges right across the board.
Ms Doyle said she was happy that the Supreme Court had recognised the quality of the work and integrity of the evaluation team in their original deliberations.
The regulator's office has been under considerable pressure following a series of legal challenges by telecoms operators which have cast doubt on the impartiality of the office in issuing licences.
Last week, a settlement was reached in a case involving Broadnet Ireland, which alleged apparent bias by the regulator in issuing a series of narrowband and broadband licences.
However, despite the success of the regulator's appeal, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, indicated yesterday there would be a major restructuring of the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation.
Ms O'Rourke told a telecoms conference that a Bill was to be introduced in the autumn which would replace the current telecoms regulator with a three-member commission.
She said, under the present system, there was too much responsibility placed on one person's shoulders. She said a three-person commission would strengthen the power of the regulator's office.
The commission would be based around the central element of accountability and it would answer to the Oireachtas, unlike the present regulator, she added.
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