Parent Bezeq called off the trials last year because of Communications Ministry regulations.
Satellite broadcaster YES is considering restarting IPTV and video-on-demand (VOD) trials with its parent company Bezeq The Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ). YES suspended the trials when former Bezeq CEO Yacov Gelbard concluded that they were not worthwhile because of Ministry of Communications regulations, which stipulate that Bezeq could not enter these markets under current circumstances.
Now that Bezeq is preparing to build its next-generation network (NGN) and Minister of Communications Ariel Atias is due to set new regulations on the basis of the Gronau committee recommendations in a few months, YES has decided to reconsider the issue of IPTV and VOD trials. A further factor behind the review is the development of IPTV and VOD technology in the past year.
The Ministry of Communications currently holds that Bezeq may not participate in IPTV and VOD services, but that YES can do so, provided that Bezeq's infrastructure is made available to all content providers. Bezeq refuses to accept this principle, which prevents it from direct involvement in the provision of IPTV services while allowing everyone else to use its infrastructure for this purpose.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 1, 2008
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