Telecom Ministry's desperate efforts to prevent TPSA's share price falling

The Telecommunications Ministry has drafted a bill to regulate voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) services. The bill has been triggered by a disagreement between state-owned telecommunications company Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TPSA) and cellular-phone operator Era GSM, because Era GSM is offering lower-priced international calls, thanks to a VoIP connection. TPSA says it has the monopoly in Poland for international-voice transmission. Era GSM says it has not breached TPSA's monopoly as it is transmitting data, not voice signals, because speech is first converted into electric signals prior to being transmitted to an international destination via the internet. The Ministry is concerned France Telecom, which is negotiating a 25% to 35% stake in TPSA, could demand a share-price reduction as TPSA's potential to earn revenue from international calls would be less than it previously expected if ERA GSM continues to offer VolP-services on international calls. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 26). S.M.