PTCL unblocks all telephony websites
Jang, KARACHI: Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have claimed that the Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) has unblocked all Internet telephony websites.

Officials - pretending to be unaware of the situation - were however reluctant to confirm this news.

The ISPs claim that the PTCL has unblocked all 17 websites providing Internet telephony access to the browsers, a move which apparently came in the wake of an order of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) a year ago.

"We have been experiencing no problem in accessing and providing our customers Internet telephony access," said the head of a local ISP - having bandwidth from Pakistan Internet Exchange, a sister concern of the PTCL.

He claimed that the ISP had been providing Internet telephony services to its customers but added that the authorities had not informed about the development.

"We have neither been informed by the PTCL nor the PIE (about this development). Anyway, it is good for us," said the head of the ISP.

On the plea of the PTCL, the PTA - the national telecom regulator - in February 2002 put an end to Internet telephony by imposing a ban on all 17 websites, which facilitated worldwide calls by-passing the PTCL.

PTCL officials argue that under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996, basic telephone services were the prerogative of the phone utility.

The Act declares that "basic telephone services mean the provision of any telecommunications service, which consists of a two-way live voice telephone service in digital form or otherwise over any fixed switched network or between base stations or switches or modes of any public mobile switched network; real-time transmission or reception of facsimile images over a public fixed switched network; international telephony service; and the lease of circuits for the provisions of the services specified."

However, in November 2002, the PTA asked the PTCL to unblock all the Internet telephony websites.

"But they (PTCL) didn’t follow the PTA’s orders and the sites were blocked till a few days ago," said the head of another ISP.

"However, it is good for both ISPs and Internet browsers. It is better late than never," he commented.

He said Internet telephony had nothing to harm the PTCL’s business. PTCL business, the head of the ISP said, did not increase due to a ban on Internet telephony but due to a cut in its tariff, twice in a year.

In October 2003, the PTCL cut overseas call rates by 23 per cent per minute. However, the per minute call rates for Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Libya, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States of America were fixed at Rs30 from the previous Rs39 per minute.

The PTCL however says that unblocking of Internet telephony websites is not decided.

"It is not officially decided. We would see how it has happened," a senior PTCL official said wishing not to be named. He suspected it might be some technical problems, ultimately resulting in unblocking of Internet telephony websites.
- posted @ Thursday, January 08, 2004