Broadband Internet in Israel has been available since the late 1990s in theory, but it only became practical to most customers in 2001. By 2008, Israel has become one of the few countries with developed broadband capabilities across two types of infrastructure, reaching over 95% of the population.[1] The actual broadband penetration stands at 77%, ranked 7th in the world.[2] in 2010, Israel was ranked 26th in The Economist's digital economy rankings.[3]
Internet in Israel is provided through the phone and cable infrastructures, by Bezeq and Hot respectively. Bezeq provides dial-up and ADSL services, while HOT provides cable Internet services. Every ADSL or cable Internet user has to pay separately to the infrastructure provider and to the ISP, due to competition laws.
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In November 1990, the undersea cable EMOS-1, connecting Israel with Turkey, Greece and Italy, was deployed. This was the first Israeli-built undersea cable, and was augmented by CIOS in April 1994.[4] Since then, other cables have been laid which have provided large capacity links between Israel and abroad.
Until 1997, most domestic Internet traffic was routed either directly between ISPs, or through the Israeli universities' academic network operated by the IUCC. Since 1997, the Israel Internet Association has been responsible for operating the Israeli Internet eXchange (IIX) through which much of the domestic Internet traffic is routed.
Broadband Internet has been available in Israel via ADSL since the late 1990s in theory, but it only became practical to an average residential customer in 2001. This was enabled by a significant upgrade to the Internet infrastructure in 1999, at a cost of over a billion shekels.[1] Since then prices have dropped considerably.
Also in 2001, the Communications Law of 1982 was amended to allow the provision of broadband Internet through the cable infrastructure.[5]
The typical connection speed has remained at 1.5 Mbit/s (with 150 kbit/s upstream) for the bulk of 2005 and 2006, and rose to 2.5 Mbit/s by 2008. Connections of over 2 Mbit/s (with a 250 kbit/s upload speed) were introduced in the summer of 2005 to the mainstream. As of September 2010, 16% of Internet subscribers received speeds of 10 Mbit/s or higher.[6] As of 2009, 5 Mbit/s speeds or less run over ADSL (G.DMT), and 8 Mbps/800 kbit/s or greater speeds—over ADSL2+ or VDSL. Maximum speeds via the cable modem provider's (Hot) connection are 100 Mbit/s down and 2 Mbit/s up over DOCSIS 3.0, a service started on October 21, 2009.[7] All ADSL services require and use the PPPoE or PPPoA protocols, and cable modem connections generally operate over VPNs using the PPTP/L2TP protocol (with MPLS available upon special request).
Bezeq, the major local exchange carrier, began rolling out their Next Generation Network (NGN) in 2009 with theoretical speeds up to 200 Mbit/s by using a combination of fiber to the curb (FTTC) and ADSL2+/VDSL/VDSL2 technologies. Initial product offerings of their NGN were 10 Mbit/s and 15 Mbit/s download and 800 kbit/s upload speeds over ADSL2+,[8][9] with a best effort package of up to 100 Mbit/s available starting October 2010. According to Bezeq, NGN is slated to reach 90% of the homes in Israel by late 2011 and offerings of 200 Mbit/s will be provided in 2012.[9][10] Its main cable competitor, HOT, is building DOCSIS 3.0 infrastructure which will potentially allow similar bandwidths.[8]
The three main mobile phone companies, Pelephone, Partner (Orange), and Cellcom, offer HSPDA service, typically 1.8 Mbit/s, over their respective 3g networks as well.
Israel is connected to the outside world by the MedNautilus undersea cable, owned by Telecom Italia, which holds a monopoly in the field.[11] National connectivity is provided by the Israel Internet eXchange (IIX), a central meeting point of the Internet Service Providers in Israel.[12]
Due to competition laws, every DSL or cable Internet user has to pay separately to the infrastructure provider and to the Internet service provider (ISP). Infrastructure is provided by Bezeq (via dial-up and ADSL) and Hot (cable Internet). All cellular companies (Pelephone, Partner, Cellcom and Mirs) provide wireless Internet infrastructure, and also serve as Internet service providers.
The three main Internet service providers are 012 Smile, 013 Netvision (including Internet Rimon) and Bezeq International. In 2006, the companies held market shares of 34%, 33% and 30%, respectively, although this number includes international phone calls.[13] In all, as on June 2, 2010, there were 43 companies with ISP licenses given by the Ministry of Communications.[14]
A fiber to the home (FTTH) pilot was conducted in Kiryat Shmona in 2010 by the Israel Electric Corporation, which is slated to build an FTTH network in Israel.[15] On March 6, 2011 the communications ministry approved founding a subsidiary of IEC for that purpose.[16] Bezeq is also set to conduct a similar pilot in Petah Tikva in 2012, paving the way for FTTH connections in Israel.[10]
The country's international connectivity is planned to be augmented by a second undersea cable that will compete with MedNautilus, provided by the Internet service provider Bezeq International[17][18] (businessman Dadi Borovich previous showed interested in such an investment).[11] A similar plan by businessman Poju Zabludowicz was approved in February 2011.[19] In the wireless market, a WiMax is planned across the country, with the first pilot conducted in Sderot in 2007.[20] Partner Communications will deploy the first 4G network in Israel, with the help of Ericsson, at a cost of about $100 mln.[21]
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