TELECOMS giant Digicel will have to wait until October 25 to know if the Court of Appeal will overturn a lower court decision last year that allowed the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) to oppose its merger with telecoms provider Claro.

The FTC in December 2011 filed suit in the Supreme Court to block the pending merger of the two telecoms entities. The FTC, in its challenge, had asked for fines of $5 million against Digicel Jamaica Limited and Oceanic Digital Jamaica Limited for each detected breach of the Fair Competition Act.

The merger, the FTC contended, would result in a lessening of competition in the telecoms market and adversely affect customers.

But before the Supreme Court could hear the suit in January 2012, Digicel, through the law firm Henlin Gibson Henlin, filed a counter action challenging the FTC’s jurisdiction to bring the claim.

The matter was taken to Court of Appeal after the Supreme Court ruled that the FTC in fact had the legal standing to challenge the merger, which was first approved by then Prime Minister Bruce Golding in August 2011 and took effect on March 1, 2012 when Claro ceased operating in Jamaica.

Lawyers for the parties, including LIME, which had joined the matter on the side of the FTC, started arguing the matter in the Court of Appeal and concluded their arguments last week when the court reserved its ruling until October.

Should the court rule against Digicel’s appeal, the FTC will be cleared to proceed with its challenge of the merger in the Supreme Court.

Digicel is being represented by Queen’s Counsel Michael Hylton and Georgia Gibson-Henlin. Dr Delroy Beckford and Wendy Duncan appeared for the FTC; LIME was represented by Denise Kitson and Trudy-Ann Dixon-Frith.