The OUR has determined that the current bandwidth within which all three local mobile telephone carriers are operating should be slashed by about a third, but Digicel Jamaica is contending that it was not within the purview of the regulatory body to so determine. Rather, said Seamus Lynch, Digicel's chief operating officer, the market should determine the prices.

All three local providers of mobile telephone services - Digicel, Cable & Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ) and Centennial Digital Jamaica - can now charge anywhere between $3 and $12 per minute for telephone calls made from a fixed line, but the OUR has determined that that should be reduced to $8 at the highest band.

The OUR was expected to implement the new prices on July 1, but two days before Digicel obtained an order from the Supreme Court barring the regulatory agency from proceeding further until the matter has been determined by the court.

Neither Mr. Lynch nor the OUR's Communication Manager, David Geddes, were prepared to discuss the legal issues involved when Sunday Business contacted them. Mr. Lynch did say, however, that by the end of this week they were expected to apply for a date for the hearing of the matter.

Digicel is contending that the OUR was acting ultra vires the Telecommunications Act when it made a determination on the prices to be charged, suggesting that that should be determined by the market.

However, Mr. Geddes said the Telecommunications Act required the OUR to review the matter, consult and make a determination of the prices.

Among others, the OUR will be depending on section 29(4) of the Telecommunications Act which stipulates that it may, either on its own initiative in assessing an interconnection agreement, or in resolving a dispute between operators, make a determination of the terms and conditions of call termination, including charges.

If the OUR's determination holds, it would mean that Digicel would have to reduce its current $12 per minute charge for fixed-to-mobile to about $8. If the peak hour rate is in fact set at $8, the move would not affect the prices currently charged by C&WJ and Centennial Digital, both of which have a fixed rate of $7 per minute from fixed-to-mobile.

The subject of whether the calling as well as the receiving party should pay for a call made from a fixed line to a cellular telephone could also be a subject of the judicial review.

The OUR said while they have not proposed that such a mechanism be implemented as part of any pricing agreement, it was something they have examined, having regard for its applicability in international markets, such as North America, which they have been monitoring.

With regard to the review of prices from fixed-to-mobile telephones, on which Digicel will be asking the court to make a ruling, Courtney Jackson, deputy director-general of the OUR said last month that they had previously set the rates based on international benchmarks. However, he said those benchmarks have since been reduced and that was one of the bases on which the OUR determined that the existing local rates should also be reduced.

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