[VoIP] Lahore High Court suspends Pak Telecom penalty order

[Tom Coffin]

It's easy to take our freedoms for granted...

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>Lahore High Court suspends Pak Telecom penalty order
>RECORDER REPORT 
>
>ISLAMABAD (December 4) : The Lahore High Court has suspended an order 
>from the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) ordering an 
>internet service provider (ISP) to pay a penalty of Rs 10 million 
>because a customer of its had used the facility for voice 
>communication.
>
>Justice Raja Muhammad Sabir, who sat at the Rawalpindi bench of the 
>LHC here on Friday passed the restraint order. Admitting the petition 
>of Britt Data Communications (BDC) against the PTA the court ordered 
>the issuance of notices to the respondents.
>
>In addition to imposing the fine the PTA had also cancelled the ISP 
>licence which the private sector company is seeking to be restored.
>
>Britt's counsels, Tariq Bilal and Babar Bilal, narrated the events 
>leading to action saying that the Pakistan Telecommunication Company 
>Ltd (PTCL) was "unauthorised" to give the Authority a legal ground to 
>proceed against the party.
>
>Secondly, they contended the PTA had failed to "unearth" any 
>equipment that "could possibly purport to connect the telephone lines 
>with the internet".
>
>As such, they argued there could not be any cause for actions that 
>were being challenged by the petitioner.
>
>The counsel accused the PTCL, which was also a similar service 
>provider and hence a competitor, had violated the law by carrying out 
>a raid without the approval of the Pakistan Telecommunications 
>Authority which was the sole supervisory "umbrella" body regulating 
>the issue and monitoring of internet licences.
>
>The petitioner said that even the "material" recovered from its 
>customer was not sufficient to prove transmission of voice through 
>internet.
>
>The essential component for transmission of voice through data 
>circuits using ordinary telephone lines, BDC pointed out was not 
>found either from the customer or the petitioner.
>
>Regular hearing on the petition will begin after a bench is assigned 
>to it and the office notifies it on the cause list.
>
>Copyright 1999 Business Recorder (www.brecorder.com)
>
>http://www.brecorder.com/story/S0010/S1002/S1002104.htm
>
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