Cellular antenna, the poor coverage in Judea and Samaria remains and with it the danger on the roads/Reuven Castro
After years of procrastination, promises, statements and threats that continue since 2015, the Ministry of Communications is replacing the suit of threats with actions.
For the first time in Israel, fines - "financial sanctions" in the state's parlance - amounting to almost NIS 9 million are being imposed on cellular operators that failed to provide 4th generation cellular coverage to 95% of a settlement area or road route.
The cellular operators on which the sanctions will be imposed are Pelephone, Partner, Cellcom, Hot Mobile and Wicom, according to a letter sent by the head of the office, attorney Einval Meshash.
At this stage it is not yet clear whether this is the first step in a series of actions, since the sanctions were imposed based on the reports of the companies themselves and not on a survey conducted by the ministry.
In June 2023, in the week in which Menachem Ordman was murdered and three IDF soldiers were wounded in a shooting attack near the Dotan entrance, we reported here in Walla Car about the risk to the residents of Judea and Samaria and the Valley due to the combination of poor cell phone coverage and security risk on the roads. In his response, Communications Minister Dr. Shlomo Karai stated that : "Mobile phone coverage and reception are a first-rate security and civil need and are a high priority of the ministry."
We also noted that "these days, headquarters work is being completed to grant enforcement powers, which do not exist today, against companies that will not comply with the provisions of the license for the required coverage".
The bullet-riddled car of the late Menachem Ordman, stopped at an intersection to end a cell phone call and was shot/Official website, Security Division of the Samaria Regional Council
Now, as mentioned, for the first time, sanctions have been imposed on the cellular operators, but surprisingly, despite the commitment to address the reception situation in the Judea and Samaria region, and also in the nearby Bekaa region, which suffers from a similar problem, there is no reference to the roads in the communication ministry's announcement.
The places where it was noted that deficiencies in the cellular coverage were found are Yatbata, Tzofar, Majdal Shams, Darijat, Dorot, Ahitov, Hatzers, Ka'ob Abu El Higa' and Shushant Ha'amkim, as well as on roads 10, 227, 171 and 999.
That is, in the area of the Negev, the Arabah and the Golan Heights, but without reference to the territories of Judea and Samaria and the Bekaa, where the security danger is linked to the risk of traffic accidents.
Among other things, in a statement to the media, Communications Minister Karai stated that "the Communications Ministry has never imposed sanctions on cellular companies due to non-compliance with license conditions. I received the Communications Ministry from my predecessor when the State of Israel was ranked 73rd in the world alongside third world countries. No more. I am committed to improving the cellular infrastructure in a way significant in the coming years, starting in 2024 - a year I defined as the 'year of the cell phone'."
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Route 505 going down from Samaria to the Jordan Valley/Reuven Castro
However, it is possible that the sanctions on the reception on the roads of Yehuda Samaria and the Bekaa on the way, last Friday came into effect orders signed by the Minister of Communications and General of the Central Command Yehuda Fox.
The sanction orders were required in order to impose a financial fine on the companies active in the territories of Judea and Samaria because they compare the obligation of the cellular companies in these areas to those in the rest of the country.
The Ministry of Communications did not specify when the works to increase cellular coverage would go into effect, and only referred to a budget of 50 million shekels for the purpose of establishing communication sites in these areas and for the benefit of enforcement against the companies.
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