Ministry of Communications sources say that interim findings by the ministry's effectiveness study of the naked ADSL service provided by Bezeq The Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) has found that it is taking hold among the company's subscribers. This means that while the study will continue in order to estimate the service's penetration, it will probably not result in the ministry intervening in the price that Bezeq charges for the service, despite claims that it is too high.
Over the past few months, the Ministry of Communications has been reviewing the cost of Bezeq's naked ADSL service, following dissatisfaction at the price and complaints by communications operators who lobbied the ministry on the issue. Bezeq charges NIS 75 for naked ADSL service: NIS 25 for the separate line plus the subscriber's Internet package, which averages NIS 50.
The Ministry of Communications compelled Bezeq to offer naked ADSL in order to encourage the entry of new communications providers to provide VoIP-based telephony services. However, Bezeq charged more than the ministry had hoped, which raised questions as to whether the company was harming new communications providers.
The Ministry of Communications said in response, "In recent months, the ministry has received data from Bezeq regarding subscribers for telephone lines, naked ADSL, Internet, and so forth. As of now, we see no indication that the naked ADSL service has not taken hold among wireline telephony subscribers in Israel. The Ministry of Communications will continue to monitor the issue."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 2, 2008
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