HOT has established the unit to receive an Internet Service Provider license.
Hot Cable Systems Media Ltd. (TASE: HOT) has set up a new Internet Services Provider (ISP) unit, Hot Net. It will be a subsidiary of Hot Telecom Ltd., which is responsible for the company's telecom activities. Hot Net will operate as a fully structured separate entity from the cable TV broadcast company and telecom company, as a part of the Ministry of Communications' policy and the recommendations of the Groanau Committee.
The Ministry of Communications has yet to complete Hot Net's license due to dilemmas on the wording of the license. HOT, like Bezeq Israel Telecommunications Company Ltd. (TASE:BZEQ), owns a physical infrastructure, and entering into competition in the ISP market, this generates fears in the ministry about developments in the ISP market. The market is entering a period of uncertainty with Partner Communications Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE:PTNR; LSE:PCCD) also entering the ISP market. Despite this, there is no doubt that HOT will soon receive its ISP license, although it is not certain whether HOT will also be granted the international communications license that it is interested in receiving.
HOT has also submitted an application for an international calls license but is not pressing the Ministry on the matter as the ISP license is its top priority because activities are easier to set up. International calls involve a far more complex operation, which require agreements with international operators worldwide, and profitability in the sector is also falling.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 7, 2008
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