Firm barred from GSM sale eyes legal action.

A FIRM barred from the auction of Cyprus’ first GSM mobile phone licence to the private sector could delay the process with a legal challenge to the decision, a source close to the firm said yesterday.
Telecoms regulator Vassos Pyrgos told Reuters he was not aware whether the company — Atlantic Crest Investment — was contemplating court action and declined to state publicly why the company had been disqualified.
Atlantic Crest, which includes Monaco Telecom and three Cypriot businessmen, has assigned the case to its solicitors, the source, who is involved in the consortium, told Reuters.

“Our position is that we have been disqualified unfairly. We have not been convinced of the reasons given, and we will challenge this disqualification,” said the source.

The decision to bar Atlantic Crest from the October 29 auction was announced in the official gazette last Friday.
“Whether they will contest this decision or not we do not know,” Regulator Vassos Pyrgos told Reuters.
It was not immediately clear if the move would involve a court injunction, which would almost certainly delay the auction. Any court hearing of this nature would have to be held in the Supreme Court.

The notification in the official gazette said the two firms that passed pre-qualification “met the minimum requirements as outlined in contest documents” but gave no other details.

The two firms declared eligible to bid are Cosmote Cyprus, linked to Greece’s Cosmote, and Scancom (Cyprus).
The company received the reasons for their disqualification in writing on Monday, but has not disclosed them and Pyrgos has said only that it related to fulfilling one of the “major clauses”.

Cyprus needs to deregulate its telecoms market before joining the European Union next May.
The newcomer will compete in the market with state-backed CyTA, which currently has a monopoly on GSM services. (R)

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