Cable television company Cabletech and the DBS consortium headed by Unicorp general manager Prosper Abitbul and 3-Com president Eric Benhamou are negotiating over cooperation in providing multi-channel television broadcasts by satellite to Cabletech subscribers.
Cabletech, which has 6,000 subscribers in Ariel and neighboring settlements in the Samaria area of the West Bank, currently receives broadcasts from Golden Channels, paying $11 per subscriber. The company recently filed suit to have Golden Channels declared a monopoly, claiming that it charges an extortionate price.
Cabletech general manager Zohar Polovin confirmed that negotiations were taking place, and said their aim was to obtain cheaper service, to broaden the spectrum of services he provides, to increase the number of subscribers. At present, Cabletech does not reach Samaria settlements access to which would require very high investment in infrastructure.
Prosper Abitbul told "Globes" that negotiations with Cabletech were proceeding both over cooperation and over possible partnership in the company, but said he was not sure whether such a step would be approved by the Ministry of Communications.
If an agreement is signed, it will give the consortium an initial 10,000 subscribers, representing an advantage over the other DBS companies. Abitbul already has an agreement in principle with the Kibbutz Economies Organization which, if realized, could give the consortium an initial subscriber list in the tens of thousands.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on November 22, 1998