TPSA threatens to cut service to internet service providers

Poland's largest telecoms operator Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. (TPSA) has sent out an ultimatum to a number of internet service providers (ISPs), threatening to block the ISPs' analogue connections if they do not switch to more expensive digital links. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, TPSA is trying to eliminate small ISPs who lease TPSA's cable network in order to resell the bandwidth to private users. The cost of leasing a one-kilometer long digital tract with a capacity of one megabit per second amounts to zl. 2200 plus VAT per month, whereas an analogue link of similar speed costs zl. 330 a month. "We want to differentiate between clients between who use the links for their own needs, and those who use them in order to make money, that is make further commercial use of our network," explained TPSA spokesperson Witold Rataj. According to an announcement by the Telecommunication Regulation Office (URT), TPSA, being the leading telecoms operator on the Polish market, cannot refuse to provide services which appear on the company's price list. Owners of companies who have their links blocked can turn to the URT, which will enforce reinstatement of the service and can also punish TPSA financially. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 17) A.K.