[Asterisk-biz] Message to Israel's regulator

Sat Dec 17 13:46:16 MST 2005

  Hello Yair,

  I read all your posts in the list and I have to tell you that they are really frustrating and irritating. It's clear to me that you (and the whole ministry) have completely missed the point, and to consider yourselves as progressive is nothing more than a sad joke**. The fact that you don't understand why people consider (justly) that the current policies are "Cuba like" just demonstrates what I mean.

  The key reason for that is that you failed to understand what the EU regulators understood a long time ago:

  There are 2 distinct types of VoIP services:
  1. VoIP over a private backbone (in your case HOT’s and the ISPs that are connected to HT and to Bezeq), in which QoS is controlled by the provider is considered by all the "Normal" regulators as a service which requires a license, and is considered as a telephony service.

  2. VoIP over the public Internet, which is nothing more than a value added service that the providers usually explain to their clients that is not a replacement of their fixed or mobile telephony service (that provide emergency services) and is usually cheaper, but is NOT regulated.

  We, for example, are connected to (alternate) licensed carriers in several countries (including Israel, but over IP because we are not allowed to put gateways in Israel) and we provide all our termination and origination services (including DIDs from countries much smaller and bigger than Israel), while using the licensed carriers routes to/from PSTN. It is in their interest to provide us these services, because it helps them improve their balance with the local incumbent.

  In the guidelines published last year by Ulmert, he included all the types of services as ones that require licenses that cost millions of dollars. The only reason for that is the ability to maintain a cartel of his rich friends, on the backs of the paying citizens. I am in excellent contact with 4 of the licensed International carriers in Israel and they admitted to me that the result of these guidelines is exactly that.

  Another major problem today is your refusal (so far) to allow the licensed carriers in Israel to sell local price DIDs (07X or 1-709, for example) to overseas providers. the only numbers we can legally buy from Israeli carriers are 1-809s (toll free), but although some of them got both International and Domestic licenses and prefixes, and they are ready to sell these numbers (technically and commercially), they refuse to do it until they get the ministry's approval and god knows when this will happen with the elections coming up and the fact that Sharon is not appointing a minister.

  While we're at it, can you clarify to the list whether Delta Three's Jerusalem numbers that they sell everywhere for years are legal or not? If it is legal for them to do it, what prevents anyone of putting PRI gateways, connect them to Bezeq and start selling numbers, the same way they (and others) do?

  Your ministry's inability to understand the market realities and the change that the Internet brought to the world are the reasons I left Israel to a European country in which the citizens, companies and alternate local carriers enjoy our rates and discounts, our advanced services and our support and care. The ones that lost are the Israeli people that do not get our tax money nor are they able to benefit from our service and pricing.

  Let’s see if you’ll try (like Iran) to also block SkypeOut, Yahoo!’s, Sony’s, MSN’s and all the other providers’ service from Israel or you’ll allow clients in Israel to buy CPE VoIP gateways and to connect them to any International provider and to have a true choice, like they should.

  Take care,

  David (disappointed former resident)

  **No personal offense intended

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