KARACHI, Nov 6: The Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority seem to be on a collision course over the closure of websites which allow communication from a personal computer to a telephone using an Internet connection.

Official sources told Dawn that the representatives of Ispak had recently had a meeting with the telecoms regulator’s chairman at the PTA headquarters at which they made it clear that the business of 112 Internet service providers had been very adversely affected by the closure of these websites.

Early this year the telecoms regulators directed the Internet service providers to block the websites which allow voice communication from a personal computer to a telephone, especially in North America, using an Internet connection. The PTA letters says: “All the ISPs are directed to ensure that voice communication using Net2Phone or any other prepaid card/equipment is not established through Internet and the same will be periodically checked by Licence Enforcement wing through these complementary connections.”

In another official letter, the PTA forbade the Internet service providers to allow 17 websites through which telephone calls could be made to North America bypassing the PTCL.

The Ispak secretary, V.A. Abidi, told Dawn that the meeting had also been attended by Pakistan Telecommunication Company officials as well. “The PTCL officials had brought with them data showing a minor increase in international calls. They insisted that the number of international calls had gone up because the PTA had imposed a ban on voice communication through the Internet.”

Mr Abidi contended that the increase in the number of international calls was attributable to the reduction of cost per minute in international tariff made by the PTCL twice during the past three months.

Last month the PTCL brought down its international call rates. For Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey the international call has been brought down to Rs25 per minutes. For some other countries, such as the United Arab Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Russia, the international call rate has been decreased to Rs39 per minute. But Voice-Over Internet Protocol is largely used to make calls to North America only.

Sources told Dawn that the Pakistan Internet Exchange, which veritably served the purpose of the much-denounced National Access Point, was being employed to block these websites. The Pakistan Internet Exchange could keep a watchful eye on the electronic data being sent in and out of the country.

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

The Act declares that “basic telephone services” means the provision of any telecommunication service which consists of 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.”