Telephone directory is long overdue

When is a new edition of the long-outdated 2004 telephone directory going to be published?

It has been quite some time now that the matter was raised. The Malta Communications Authority, which is responsible for the telecommunications sector, should have taken action, in particular following Roamer's well-argued piece in The Sunday Times of July 26 last year.

But nothing has happened since then. The MCA then stated that the matter was "under review".

There is still a demand for a printed version of the telephone directory. Not everyone has internet access enabling them to log on to the online directory. I prefer using the printed version to look up a number as it would save me time waiting on the line when I call Enquiries.

Besides, the telephone directory is a source of useful information, in particular the green pages at the end relating to government departments which should also include parastatal bodies like Enemalta, the Transport Authority, the Water Services Corporation and the Malta Communications Authority. A cross reference to these bodies in the general alphabetical section would help.

If my memory serves me right, up to about 10 years ago telephone directory enquiries were free of charge and the introduction of the present charge at the time made sense as subscribers could use their directory instead of calling Enquiries. However this is no longer the case with an unreliable directory.

As far as I know, free directory enquiries were retained for calls made from public tele-phone booths since telephone directories were no longer available in such booths after they were repeatedly vandalised.

With regard to the alleged problem arising from subscribers switching from one telephone service provider to another, I do not think this should present any insurmountable obstacle in this age of advanced telecommunications, the more so with the introduction of number portability.

The MCA should insist on the joint publication by the two service providers of a directory for fixed telephony, and perhaps a separate similar one for mobile telephony. To expedite matters it should insist that, with immediate effect, directory enquiries should again be free of charge until a new directory is distributed free of charge to each subscriber.

The Yellow Pages directory is published almost every year and distributed free of charge, so why should the telephone service providers find it so difficult?