MTNL chairman S Rajagopalan said the decks for the service had been cleared with the Delhi High Courts historic judgement quashing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's ruling.

Rajagopalan was ecstatic over the judgement. "I am happy that my stand and the governments stand has been vindicated by the court," he said. "Trai has no jurisdiction whatsoever and this landmark judgement has clarified the position regarding their role," he added. Meanwhile, MTNL has kick started the two-stage tender process for its proposed cellular venture.

The first stage tenders were opened yesterday, with seven major companies joining the fray. The bidders list reads like a who's who of the global telecom fraternity. The lucrative Delhi and Mumbai market has attracted companies like Motorola, Nokia, Ericsson, Seimens,Alcatel, Nortel and Lucent.

It may be recalled that Delhi High Court had given permission for the bidding process to be started. Rajagopalan said "the Court had permitted me to start work on my responsibility".

Expressing confidence over the potential of the cellular service, he lamented the fact that crucial three years had been lost due to the wranglings.

He expects no more delays now. "The two stage tender process is a unique one and will be completed in three months time", Rajagopalan said. The projects are to be executed on turnkey basis with the bidders being given the whole task of survey, design and installation. "The work will be completed under tight schedules and we hope to offer the service as promised", he added.