PTCL continues ban on net-phone
KARACHI- Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTCL) has continued ban on the internet telephony despite the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) verdict to remove the PTCL imposed ban from January 01, 2003.
The PTA, over the row between Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and PTCL on internet telephony imposed by PTCL in October 2002 had ordered the PTCL to remove ban by January 01, 2003.
Internet Service Providers however had rejected the decision and filed an appeal first before the Government of Pakistan and then Sindh High Court, challenging the PTCL monopoly on Pakistan Internet Exchange.
According to ISPs, under the law PTCL does not have an exclusive right on internet telephony as it doesn’t come under the basic telephony, therefore, ISPs have challenged the ban before government, while they would file an appeal before the High Court on January 1, 2003, Abdi said. The section 7 (1) and 7 (3) of Pakistan Telecom Act provides them with the right of an appeal before a court and the government against the blocking of websites and an unlawful act of PTA or PTCL.
ISPs have rejected the PTA decision on grounds that, i) PTA decision itself is meant to recognize and legalise the PTCL monopoly on the internet exchange and the ban on internet telephony. While, according to them, the PTCL’s exclusive right on basic telephony was not applicable in case of internet telephony.
ii) ISPs also maintained that there was no justification of PTA decision of removing ban on Net2Phone from January 2003 as from this date the telecom sector would be de-regularised. Hence there was no point of removing ban when the whole sector is opened up and PTCL loses its monopoly.
While PTCL had maintained that ISPs were promoting foreign companies over the National Asset of Pakistan, despite the fact that it was the PTCL, which collects the calls through partners while ISPs, as they maintained, had no foreign partners that is the PTCL, according to a representative of Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK) who attended the meeting.
The PTCL also maintained if websites were unblocked no new license-seeker would be interested to compete with the PTCL after the end of their monopoly. Though PTCL did not admit openly but the argument presented on the license seeking after the end to PTCL monopoly by end of December this year reflected that Company still wants to keep monopoly intact.
Secretary Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK) has flayed the continuation of the ban on the internet telephony and demanded of the action against the PTCL on violating the PTA verdict, which is the supreme regulator of the sector.
Source: The Nation
Date:1/2/2003
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