[Tel Aviv, ISRAEL] Internet Gold (IGLD), one of Israel’s largest
Internet service providers said it has begun offering ADSL services in Israel.
The company said it started signing up subscribers to the new service more
than two months ago and already has several thousand registered
subscribers. Packages range from $47 a month and up.
Internet Gold chief executive Eli Holtzman said special teams from each
department in the company have undergone special training to help customers
deal with the new service.
The company is first targeting the high-end residential market of early
adopters and the low-end business market.
The company said its new strategy “focuses on profitability.”
He said the company expects to offer fast Internet using other technologies,
as well, assuming planned deregulation of the telecommunications market in
Israel occurs.
The Israeli government finally issued a license for ADSL-powered high-speed
Internet access last month. Although Israel is known as a leader in Internet
technology, high-speed access has been hindered by complicated legal
wrangling amongst the key players: national telecommunications carrier
Bezeq, the Communications Ministry, the cable TV companies and the
cellular phone suppliers. To date, most Israeli surfers have been limited to a
choice of either dial-up or ISDN lines.
Israeli Attorney General Elyakim Rubenstein ruled in November that additional
licenses for high-speed service could not be issued until appropriate
legislation was put in place. As a subsidiary of Bezeq, Internet@Bezeq
International qualified for the license under the existing communications laws.
Internet Gold says it has the largest number of subscribers among Israeli
ISP’s.
