KARACHI, Feb 1: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority seems determined to cross swords with 35 Internet service providers operating in the city in its bid to put a decisive stop to Internet to phone communications.

Well-placed sources told Dawn on Friday that the telecoms regulator had come to the rescue of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company whose revenue, a considerable portion of which was obtained through long-distance overseas calls made particularly to the United States, had been shrinking since the start of Internet to phone communications, which was referred to as Voice-Over Internet Protocol in the lexicon of information technology.

They said the outgoing calls to the US during 1998 had been 16 million minutes. “Last year, the outgoing calls to the US, taken by three American carriers MCI, Sprint and At&T, plunged to 11 million minutes, thanks largely to the widespread use of Internet to phone communications.”

The PTA chairman told Dawn on phone from Islamabad that the telecoms regulator had taken the decision in view of the complaint of the PTCL regarding loss of revenue due to an ever-growing use of Internet to phone communication.

“While the PTA is doing its utmost to help the Internet service providers expand their business, it would not allow them to do what it considers illegal.”

A letter sent to all the Internet service providers by the PTA recently 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.

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.”

The president of the Internet Service Providers Association, Ansarul Haque, said the PTCL and the PTA should make a distinction between basic telephony and data transfer.

“While basic telephony is clearly a prerogative of the PTCL being a monopoly, it should have nothing to do with data transfer. According to a clause of the US-based Federal Committee on Communications voice-over Internet protocol is considered data transfer and not basic telephony.”

The sources said that the Pakistan Internet Exchange, which veritably served the purpose of the much-denounced National Access Point, could keep a watchful eye on the electronic data being sent in and out of the country.

The chief executive officer of Gem Net, an Internet service provider, said: “The PTA has asked us to block all those websites which are employed for Internet to phone communications. Now, these websites keep on increasing. If we once decided to block these websites, we would open the Pandora’s box. Besides, we will lose a lot of business because a large number of people obtain an Internet connection merely to use Voice-over Internet protocol.”

Computer experts told Dawn that a large number of websites offered the facility of voice-over Internet protocol. The following websites are commonly used: www.net2phone.com, www.dialpad.com, www.hottelephone.com, www.net2call.com, www .pc2call.com, www.pctocall.com, www.tel3.com, www.delta3com, www.iptelephony.com, www.mediaring.com, www.callwave.com, www.go2call.com, www.phonefree.com, www.nettelephone.com, www.cooltalk.com, www.buddyphone.com, www.paltalk.com. etc.