Germany’s Utimaco says Delhi High Court verdict in mobile broadcasting case ‘not fair’ | Today’s news
German company Utimaco Technologies has expressed disappointment after the Delhi High Court dismissed its petition challenging the Indian government’s decision to appoint the Center for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) as the sole implementing agency for the country’s emergency mobile broadcast system without public tender.
“While we fully respect the court’s decision, we are deeply disappointed by the verdict and believe that despite the considerable efforts we have made throughout this process, the outcome does not reflect our position,” said Ronen Daniel, CEO of Utimaco Technologies Ltd. Mint questions via email.
Daniel said the company is awaiting a detailed court order to assess its implications and determine next steps.
The Emergency Mobile Broadcast System allows authorities to send alerts simultaneously to mobile phones within a defined geographic area, allowing warnings to be communicated during natural disasters and other emergencies without having to send individual text messages. It sounds a loud alarm on phones and also reads the warning text aloud.
While the case has been in the high court since 2024, it took up an urgent hearing in May after the Center on May 2 launched a nationwide trial of a multilingual mobile broadcasting system using C-DOT technology. “He dismissed the petition with some observations,” Justice Sachin Datta said while announcing the order on Monday.
Reliability questioned
Daniel also raised concerns about the operational reliability of the current cellular broadcast system managed by C-DOT. “The C-DOT system has reportedly been down for several months due to operational issues. We strongly believe that the people of India deserve a best-in-class public warning system, backed by an experienced and professional technology partner,” he added.
In June, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) ordered a temporary suspension of C-DOT’s mobile broadcast service after authorities raised operational concerns.
Dispute between Utimaco and the center relate to trials conducted for the mobile broadcast project from 2022. According to Utimaco’s petition, the Ministry of Telecommunications has asked telecom operators to select implementing agencies for the rollout. Reliance Jio and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) conducted tests with C-DOT, while Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea tested the Utimaco platform, according to the petition.
In 2024, after recommending both C-DOT and Utimaco as suppliers, the DoT asked telecom operators to integrate their systems with a single agency – C-DOT.
Utimaco challenged the center’s decision primarily on the grounds of procurement and transparency. The company claimed that the government bypassed the normal tender process despite the availability of competing technology providers.
The government defended its decision to appoint C-DOT as the sole implementing agency by arguing that the emergency warning system is a strategic national asset involving the public interest and national security, and that outsourcing it to a private entity could harm national interests.
Utimaco also questioned the government’s subsequent reliance on national security as the reason for selecting C-DOT. She said the government’s national security argument “was never (never) raised before the trial.”
The NDMA and C-DOT first conducted a nationwide test of the multilingual cellular broadcast system on May 2. The test set off loud alarms on millions of mobile devices simultaneously and temporarily disrupted calls across the country.
