The dispute dates back to March this year when T-Mobile went to
court to amend a complex network supply agreement between the
companies.
When Virgin Mobile was originally set up T-Mobile agreed to
carry the new service over its existing British network.
In return, T-Mobile receives a percentage payment per call from
Virgin Mobile - and also receives the usual payments made by the
mobile users. To compensate Virgin Mobile for this, T-Mobile then
makes an agreed monthly payment back to Virgin Mobile in respect of
each user – all 2.6 million of them. The payment amounts to about
£4 for each customer.
In March T-Mobile went to court to try to reduce the £4 payment,
but failed. The Virgin Group then retaliated by raising another
court action in which, according to Computer Weekly, it accused
T-Mobile of “material breaches” of the joint venture agreement, and
sought to force T-Mobile to sell its stake in Virgin Mobile.
That case is still ongoing. Friday’s ruling concerned the number
of customers for whom the £4 payments are to be made. In effect the
decision means that this number is increased, and consequently so
is the compensation to which Virgin Mobile is entitled.
Virgin Mobile told Reuters that it expected to put in a claim
for several million pounds although T-Mobile insisted it would
amount to just a few hundred thousand pounds.
T-Mobile is now deciding whether or not to appeal.
