Internet provider contests rent for poles, HC wants power dept reply

Panaji: The high court has told the Goa electricity department to respond to a petition filed by an internet service provider, Edgecom Telecommunications, seeking the setting aside of the department’s order for rent from the company.
The department wants the company to pay rental charges and compensation for using electric poles to string internet cables.
The department on Feb 17 had directed the company to pay Rs 3 crore plus GST as rental charges and compensation for using the poles for five years.
Moreover, the department had asked the company to show cause for not levying an additional Rs 80 lakh plus GST as penalty.
The company has submitted to the HC that the orders contravene the provisions of the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
The department had rejected the company’s application for permission to install fibre cables on poles and directed it to remove the overground telecommunication gear as ordered in the Feb 3 notice.
The company submitted to the HC that the orders have been issued without any authority and the executive engineer has not been appointed as the nodal officer or competent officer as stipulated by the Right of Way Rules, 2024, which came into force on Jan 1 this year.
It further submitted that the rental charges and compensation calculations are ‘completely absurd’.