Minister of Communications Moshe Kahlon yesterday abolished the NIS 25 a month ADSL Only internet telephone line fee. The ministry summoned Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) to a hearing where he will notify them of his decision. The decision will cost Bezeq an estimated NIS 40-65 million a year.
The battle to cancel the ADSL Only fee began three months ago, when the Ministry of Communications announced that it planned to halve the fee. After repeated reviews, the ministry decided to abolish it altogether.
Bezeq will reportedly seek legal action against the decision and demand that the Ministry of Communications conduct an economic study to determine whether how much the ADSL Only service really costs and whether it is legal to abolish it without such an economic study.
The ADSL Only service is used by people who only have an internet line, but no telephony service, from Bezeq, as they have telephony service from another provider, such as HOT Telecommunication Systems Ltd. (TASE: HOT), 012 Smile Telecom Ltd. or 013 NetVision Ltd.
Bezeq's share price fell 0.2% in early trading today to NIS 7.36, giving a market cap of NIS 20 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 21, 2011
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