Official: Mobitel Must Stop Internet Service

Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay has sent a letter to the minister of post and telecommunications, asking him to stop mobile phone company Mobitel from operating its new Internet service.

Son Chhay said if MPTC Mini­ster So Khun continues to allow Mobitel to operate the Telesurf Internet service, 30 members of the National Assembly will re­quest the Council of Ministers to have a no confidence vote to re­move him.

Last week, So Khun told Son Chhay’s telecommunications commission in the National Assembly that Mobitel was illegally providing Internet services and or­dered the company to stop operations.

“But I still see that Telesurf is advertising through the media,” Son Chhay said Sunday. “So I wrote So Khun a letter on Friday to remind him of what he told us and to check why Telesurf keeps advertising.”

On March 1, Mobitel launched Telesurf, a wireless broadband net­work that connects users to the Inter­net without a telephone hook­up or a modem.

Competitors have said Mobitel is violating telecommunications regulations by launching the service without a specialized license. Officials from Australian-based Telstra have also said Telesurf violates Telstra’s contract with MPTC, which designates Big­Pond as the sole Internet service provider until February 2002.

So Khun said Sunday he has not received Son Chhay’s letter and will determine his response after he reads it.

David Spriggs, general manager of Mobitel, said he also hasn’t seen the letter, but reiterated that he believes Mobitel is legally operating Telesurf. He added that MPTC is going through the ap­proval process for the specialized license.

“We’ve been communicating with MPTC for many months [about Telesurf],” Spriggs said. “This has all been done legally.”

In the letter, Son Chhay also reminded So Khun that though he acknowledged receiving a $2,500 monthly salary from Mobitel as an honorary adviser, he also said he remained fair and impartial in his ministerial duties.

So Khun has said it is his right to receive the salary for his private work, and the payment does not interfere or conflict with his duties as MPTC minister.