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Wednesday, September 20, 2000 Railways get A-G`s conditional nod to rent out fiber optics By Hadar Horesh Ha`aretz Correspondent Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein has given a conditional green light for the Israel Railways Authority to rent the excess capacity on its fiber optic network. The network is used for the railroad`s control system, but the excess capacity could be used to provide domestic telecommunications services. A number of companies - especially those seeking to compete with Bezeq in this market - are interested in making use of this fiber optic infrastructure. The railroad`s fiber optic lines, from Be`er Sheva to Haifa, could potentially be used to provide broadband service to most of Israel`s business centers and high-tech industries. The Communications Ministry granted the Railways Authority a permit to rent this fiber-optic capacity, saying it would provide an impetus for competition against Bezeq`s monopoly on domestic telecommunications. Officials at the Finance and Justice ministries, however, contended that their Communications Ministry colleagues are not authorized to issue this permit. The treasury also argued that it was unfair for the publicly funded railway authority to compete in the open market against private enterprises. The attorney general expressed concern that the permit issued by the Communications Ministry would enable the railway authority to become an operator of telecommunications services. He emphasized that the permit should be limited to allow the Israel Railways Authority to lease out its fiber optic capacity to communications companies without allowing the railroad to actually enter this market itself. The attorney general will append a directive to this effect to the original permit. Under the revised permit, companies that wish to lease the fiber optic capacity from Israel Railways will need to install the equipment necessary to adapt the network for telecommunications. The permit will also require the railroad`s management to establish a subsidiary to handle the leasing of its fiber optic lines. The Communications Ministry was unhappy with the attorney general`s ruling. "The Communications Ministry is authorized to grant one type of infrastructure license and not different types of licenses depending on the owner of the infrastructure," the ministry responded. The spokesman for the Israel Railways Authority said that the railroad`s management would like to carry out its plan to lease its infrastructure as soon as possible under the revised permit, but would also challenge and seek to overturn the limitations the attorney general added to the original permit. The spokesman noted that Rubinstein said in his ruling that he would be willing to review his decision with the railways authority if requested. |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Met@box - der Israeldeal |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | junkstro (20.09.00 14:45:42) |
| Beitrag: | 40 von 315 (ID:1878349) |
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