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SCMP Reporter

INTERNET service providers (ISPs) in Hong Kong have been warned to stop using ordinary telephone lines to provide access to their systems by November 1 or face the prospect of having their connections severed by Hongkong Telecom.

  In a circular to the ISPs, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) said it had received information that some providers were avoiding payment of an interconnect charge Hongkong Telecom was entitled to levy on providers of public telecommunications services.

  The charge is in accordance with the Public Non-exclusive Telecommunications Service (PNETS) licence under which the providers operate.

  In terms of the PNETS scheme, Hongkong Telecom can charge ISPs $5.40 an hour per telephone line used in the provision of public telecom services. The system, although in place for several years, was enforced by OFTA earlier this year following police raids on 11 ISP operations that resulted in the closure of seven providers for several weeks.

  The raids and closures, carried out by the Commercial Crimes Bureau on March 3, shut off an estimated 5,000 Internet users in Hong Kong from the network for weeks.

  According to OFTA, 35 firms are currently6 lisensed to provide Internet access.

  Hongkong Telecom cannot, however, levy its PNETS charges unless the providers use special telephone numbers identified with a 300 prefix to provide access to their services.

  In a press release obtained by Technology Post that OFTA is scheduled to send out on November 1, the body puts the onus on Internet users to check if their ISPs are using the proper lines for their service provision.

  'Internet users who subscribe to the wrong public Internet service providers may suffer from service disruption as the Hongkong Telephone Company terminates the service of those lines,' the release says.

  ISPs contacted by Technology Post all use lines with 300 numbers, but some still provide access to their systems through ordinary telephone lines. In so doing, they avoid paying the PNETS tariff, a charge that at least one ISP does not pass on to its users.

  A source within OFTA said the body had received complaints about ISPs using ordinary telephone lines to avoid paying PNETS fees. Although at first implying that the complaints were from other providers, he said they had been from 'members of the public', a category he stressed included ISPs.

  OFTA's latest move is seen as an attempt to ensure that fair competition exists between ISPs.

  'Although we strongly disagree with the PNETS charge - we will do everything we can to oppose it - we applaud OFTA's long overdue moves to level the playing field,' said Mike Dunn, vice-president of marketing at ISP Asia On-line.

  The circular was intended to clear up any misunderstandings ISPs might have about the legality of using ordinary telephone lines for access to areas of the Internet such as the World-Wide Web, the OFTA source said.

  'Our objective is to clarify the message and give them [the ISPs] time to fix things,' he said.

  It would also appear that by doing so OFTA hopes to encourage errant ISPs not to fight the moves.

  He added that OFTA had conducted preliminary investigations into the matter and found that some ISPs were in breach of their licence, but refused to name them.

  OFTA has warned that it will disclose the names of any ISPs still in breach of the PNETS licence regulations on November 1 and urge Hongkong Telecom to enforce its contracts with the ISPs.

  Hong Kong Internet and Gateway Services (HKIGS) was one ISP discovered by Technology Post to be using an ordinary telephone line to provide Internet access - including access to electronic mail - while also using lines with 300 numbers.

  HKIGS operations manager Aaron Tung admitted the firm did not only use lines with 300 numbers but gave its users 'another option'.

  'If we were forced to use the 300 number we would lose customers,'Mr Tung said.

  Aaron Cheung, an HKIGS founder and managing director of ISP HongKongLink said OFTA's messages about the use of 300 numbers had been unclear.

    'There is one large area not mentioned in the circular: news reading,' Mr Cheung said, referring to Usenet newsgroups on the Internet.

  'It was not clear what they wanted regarding news reading. Some ISPs may want to do everything with the 300 numbers. This would make administrative life easier.

  'But OFTA is not acting in the best interest of the [Internet] user. OFTA is adding to the confusion about what should be covered under the 300 number.'   However, Eliza Yau, senior administrative officer (planning and legislature), at OFTA said the body had been clear enough at defining who ISPs were and what the PNETS licence covered.



Internet providers warned by OFTA