“The fact that the Ministry of Communications has decided to create a situation in which accessing a voice mailbox will be free, even though it involves a cost for wireless operators, will force us to seek compensation in other ways. The regulation will cost each wireless operator NIS 90-120 million. Although I cannot speak for the other companies, I can guess that they feel as we do,” said Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR; LSE:PCCD) VP David Avner today.
Avner continued, “Nowhere in the world, except Portugal, which we shouldn’t cite as an example in the cellular sector, has there been a decision not to bill for accessing a voice mailbox, even when no message is left. This is a bad decision by the Ministry of Communications.”
Avner asserts that accessing a voice mailbox is tantamount to offering a service, which should involve payment.
Speaking on Channel 10’s “Money Talks” program on Saturday night, Avner said, “[Minister of Communications Ariel] Atias is motivated by a need to please the public. The voice mailbox decision is unwarranted and populist. The decision will cause us severe financial harm, it causes disputes between us and our customers, and presents us in a poor light.”
Avner also accused Atias of discrimination, because Atias differentiated between the voice mailboxes of Bezeq The Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) and those of the wireless operators. In response to a question whether Partner would appeal to the High Court of Justice against the decision, Avner said, “We’re businessmen and cannot waste our time on lawsuits.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 12, 2006
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2006