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FREETOWN:Sierra Leone's telecommunications regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM), has denied allegations that it has created an uneven playing field for ISPs in the country.

Some ISPs (Internet service providers) have accused NATCOM of allowing telecom operators like Celtel and Comium to operate on licensed bandwidth to offer Internet services even though they are paying the same fees as the ISPs, which are operating on the International Scientific Monitoring (ISM) band -- a non-licensed frequency. In addition, they claim that this allows the operators to subsidize Internet charges for their users.

NATCOM's executive secretary, Bash M. Kamara, has responded by saying that NATCOM was created to provide a level playing field for all providers. The operators are in fact not paying the same fees as the ISPs, Kamara said.

"GSM operators are just offering this Internet as an added service that would entice their users who need the Internet," Kamara said. "These ISPs are just scared. But I don't think they should be because when you are a specialist, you should not be scared of a generalist. I think if they are really specialized in Internet services, they should be able to outplay these GSM operators. And some of them have proved that."

ISPs are panicking and some of them are using technologies such as VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) illegally, something that is "not going to be allowed henceforth," Kamara said.

But technology is dynamic and new developments happen almost every six months, so ISPs should not think their services have to be static, Kamara added.

He reiterated that NATCOM, which came into being in 2006, is poised to ensure that service providers comply with government regulations and encourage good working relationships with each other.

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