Still majority-owned by the Israeli government, Bezeq enjoys a near-total monopoly on most telecommunications services. The company nows owns the country's original cellular provider, Pelephone, following last year's pullout by long-time partner, Motorola. "Wow", the new DSL service is only provided by Bezeq (although resold by some ISPs). Cable companies are ready to offer telephony and high-speed internet (service could start tomorrow) - but some obscure piece of legislation prohibits them from doing so, and ensures Bezeq's monopoly for a little while longer.

Recent administrations have attempted to sell off varying amounts of government-held shares in the company, but have been deterred by union resistance, or alternatively the prevailing political and security situations have overridden trivial stuff like economic policy. There are encouraging signs however: telephony licences are being offered to new providers for either wired or LMDS service - although again, the cable companies seem to have been left out in the cold.

International voice calls are one area open to competition: one is allowed to choose between Bezeq, Barak, and Golden Lines (Kavei Zahav), as a preferred provider.

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