Maltacom subsidiary reported to Malta Communications Authority

VoIP provider Keyworld has reported Maltacom to the Malta Communications Authority, complaining that Maltacom's subsidiary Datastream was ignoring its request for the purchase of more international bandwidth.

But Maltacom chairman Maurice Zarb Adami said when contacted that Keyworld's request was not that simple.

He said the MCA had written to Maltacom about the matter, and Maltacom would be replying this week.

Keyworld said on its website that it has made repeated requests to Datastream Ltd for it to purchase more international bandwidth as well as separate circuits.

It first requested a separate circuit on December 30, a few days after it announced its intention to enter the VoIP telephony market, which allows voice to be carried over the internet.

Through its service, Keyworld has been providing low cost international calls since the beginning of the year. Other companies have also been granted a licence to provide VoIP.

The initial reply to Keyworld's request, which was received on January 6, was that the circuit could not be supplied because of technical problems. But Keyworld insisted there were no technical problems that could in any way impede the supply of the requested circuit.

On January 7, it received an e-mail confirming that it could be supplied with the circuit and a price for the service was quoted. Keyworld accepted the price and requested the service.

The company said that in the meantime, its technical department had started liaising with Datastream's technical department to put the new circuit in place.

During a telephone conversation, last Monday, Datastream stated that the separate circuit could only be given if Keyworld purchased extra bandwidth. On that same day, Keyworld issued a purchase request for more bandwidth. However, Datastream has not acknowledged the order.

Last Wednesday, Keyworld referred the dispute to the MCA as in its view, Maltacom, through Datastream, was in breach of the Telecommunications Act for not supplying Keyworld with the services requested.

The company said it was now awaiting the outcome of the MCA's investigations.