Israel Gets High-Speed Internet—Almost

Although the government has approved DSL, concerns about deployment remain as cable and DSL companies fight in court.

by Paul Shindman of israel.internet.com [November 7, 2000]

Israeli web surfers got a morale boost Monday when the government finally issued a license for ADSL-powered high-speed internet access. However, sales reps at Internet@Bezeq International, the Internet arm of national telco Bezeq and winner of the license, were only taking names of high-speed wannabees and didn't know exactly when the company would launch the service.

Although Israel a leader in Internet technology, high-speed access has been hindered by complicated legal wrangling amongst the key players: Bezeq, the Communications Ministry, the cable TV companies, and the cellular phone suppliers. To date, most Israeli surfers have been limited to a choice of dial-up or ISDN lines.

Israeli Attorney General Elyakim Rubenstein ruled that additional licenses for high-speed service could not be issued until appropriate legislation was put in place. As a subsidiary of Bezeq, Internet@Bezeq International qualified for the license under the existing communications laws.

With the precarious position of the current Israeli government, it is unclear how quickly lawmakers will be able to push through new legislation. Cable complains
Cable and cellular phone companies are furious at the refusal to grant additional licenses. The three cable companies, Matav, Golden Channels and Tevel, have appealed to the High Court of Justice to overturn the ruling, claiming that the issuing of a single license was discriminatory, violated fair competition and created an economically harmful monopoly that deprived them of equal and fair market competition.

The legal squabbling also put Communications Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer on the defensive.

"I am sorry that today I'm in the situation where Bezeq has become a monopoly," Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio, adding that he really wanted the high-speed internet market to be open to competition.

The cable companies demanded that the court order the government to issue them a license. Give us an equal opportunity to compete and "let the market determine the price," said Dalit Kitsis, spokeswoman for the cable companies.

Internet@Bezeq International will offer ADSL service directly, but under terms of the license will also have to provide ADSL to all other Israeli ISPs who want it.

Despite Bezeq saying they would offer the service immediately, a sales representative at their toll free number said the company was only taking names and numbers of interested customers and didn't know exactly when surfers could get hooked up, or what the cost would be.

—End