Regulation and Administrative Law Update | Bill to Amend the Israeli Communication Law to Replace the Licensing Regime with a Registration Regime

On May 24^th, 2021, the Bill to amend the Israeli Communication Law passed its “first reading” in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament). The Bill imposes significant changes to the Ministry of Communications’ (“MoC”) current telecommunication licensing scheme.

The Bill constitutes a revolution in the telecommunication sector in Israel, by eliminating the obligation to seek specific licenses prior to the commencement of any telecommunication activity in Israel, and transitioning into the globally acceptable, with less burdensome bureaucracy, registration regime.

The Bill is now to be discussed and prepared by the Knesset committee for the approval of the Knesset in “second and third readings”. At this preliminary stage we have no knowledge of the timeframe for this process to be completed.

Current Regulatory Framework in the Israeli Telecommunication Sector

The Communication law (Telecommunication and Broadcasting) 5742-1982 (“Communication Law”) sets the regulatory framework for the Israeli telecommunication market.

Pursuant to the Communication Law, the primary regulatory supervisory and enforcement mechanism for telecommunication activities is licensing, in its various forms (general and specific licenses for telecommunication providers, broadcasters, internet infrastructure, cable, or satellite broadcasting, etc.).

Furthermore, the range of “telecommunication activities” which require licensing under the current Communication Law is very broad, and de facto catches almost each and any activity conducted in a telecommunication network (even if such relate to an activity in a private network, VPN network, vehicle tracing, car alarms and so on).

The Bill seeks to reduce the bureaucratic burden and lower the high entry barriers in order to incentivize more players and investors to enter into the telecommunication market in Israel.

Further, the Bill aims to have the Israeli regulatory scheme aligned with the best practices of the European Union countries, as set forth in Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code, which inter alia requires Member States to progressively reduce ex ante sector-specific regulatory obligations and intervention rules.

The Bill

The bill to amend the Communication Law (Bill of Communication (Bezeq and Broadcasting) (Amendment #75) March 3^rd, 2021), (the Bill) provides that the oversight of telecommunication services, by default, shall be conducted by registration in a Registrar administered by the General Manager of the MoC, based on simple and swift process conducted pursuant to publicly available criteria.

The general permit shall define in advance a coherent and detailed set of criteria, which shall apply to all service providers, and if needed, the General Manager shall publish individual instructions to registrants.

The Bill proposes that specific permits shall still be required for certain telecommunication services, for which tighter regulation is required, such as for the promotion of competition (where one player has significant market power) or where resources are limited (such as radio frequencies or wireless).

Moreover, the range of telecommunication services which require registration shall be narrowed down to one of three services: telephone, internet access, and data transfer. In order to remain flexible, the Minister of Communications shall have the authority to have other types of services subject to regulation, for as long as the services are provided while operating a telecommunication network, and there is a public interest relating homeland security, public safety, or the promotion of competition.

Telecommunication operations which do not include service to the public (except for laying and operating a submarine communications cable) shall not be subject to regulation according to the Bill.

For more information, please contact the Regulation & Administrative Law practice in our office:

Adv. Yaron Herman: 03-6074464, yaron@gkh-law.com

Adv. Shay Yanovsky: 03-6074582, shayy@gkh-law.com

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