Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands: 10 September 2026
Travers Thorp Alberga successfully represented the Cayman Islands Utility Regulation and Competition Office in a landmark appeal before the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, securing a reversal, on all counts, of the Grand Court’s decision concerning the validity of license fees under the Information and Communications Technology Act.
In the judgment delivered today in The Utility Regulation and Competition Office v The King on the application of Infinity Broadband Limited and the Attorney General of the Cayman Islands (CICA 14 of 2025), the Court of Appeal unanimously allowed URCO’s appeal and rejected, in their entirety, Infinity Broadband Limited’s challenges to the Regulatory Fee and Royalty Fee regime applicable to ICT licensees in the Cayman Islands.
The appeal team was led by Sam Grodzinski KC and TTA Partners Anna Peccarino and Ian Huskisson, and Counsel Amanda Minto.
The judgment is a significant public law and regulatory decision. In a comprehensive 73-page judgment, the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the legal foundation of the ICT licensing framework that has governed the sector since the liberalization of the telecommunications market in 2002 and provided authoritative guidance on issues of constitutional principle, statutory interpretation and administrative law.
The Court held that the ICT Act validly authorized the collection of the Royalty Fee and confirmed that the Legislature lawfully delegated authority to determine such license fees to the Regulator. The Court further found that the Act does not require license fees to be prescribed by separate regulations and that both the Regulatory Fee and Royalty Fee had been lawfully charged throughout the relevant period.
The decision has implications extending beyond the immediate facts. Recognizing the wider constitutional and public interest ramifications of the case, the Court restored certainty to a regulatory and licensing regime that has been relied upon by government, regulators and industry participants for more than two decades.
The judgment provides important appellate authority on the interpretation of legislation, the delegation of regulatory powers, the validity of regulatory charging frameworks and the limits of public law challenges to long-established statutory schemes.
The case raised novel questions concerning the scope of delegated legislative powers, the interpretation of revenue-generating statutory schemes and the relationship between regulatory authority and constitutional principle. The decision confirms TTA’s expertise in complex appellate advocacy, governmental and regulatory disputes, constitutional litigation and public law challenges.
For further information, please contact:
Anna Peccarino
Head of Dispute Resolution
Travers Thorp Alberga
www.traversthorpalberga.com
apeccarino@traversthorpalberga.com