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Native name | הוט - מערכות תקשורת בע"מ |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Telecommunications andcable television |
| Founded | August 18, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-08-18) |
| Headquarters | Tel Aviv, Israel |
Area served | Israel |
Key people | Tal Granot Goldstein (CEO) |
| Parent | Altice Europe N.V. |
| Subsidiaries | Hot mobile |
| Website | www.hot.net.il(in Hebrew) |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
Hot Telecommunication Systems Ltd. (Hebrew:הוט - מערכות תקשורת בע"מ) is a company that providescable television, last-mile Internet access,broadband and telecommunication services inIsrael. It also provides various data transmission services and network services at different rates, services to the business sector and other ancillary services.
In November 2004, Hot Telecom commenced providing domestic fixed line telephone services to residential and business subscribers. The company's shares were traded on theTel Aviv Stock Exchange and it was a constitute of theTA-100 Index until its acquisition byAltice. In March 2013, the company employed 3,958 workers.[2]
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The company was founded on 18 August 2003 as merger of the three national cable companies in Israel: Matav, Tevel and Golden Channels that can be directly linked to the growing competition of the local satellite television providerYes. While these companies had pursued a union since the late 1990s in order to save administrative and content purchasing costs, and especially after Yes was founded in order to stop it before it could grow, the Israeli government monopoly regulator had denied it[citation needed] until Yes had grown at least a minimum subscriber base. The three original companies had not competed with each other since each had been regulated with specific cities and regions.
Hot offers about 200 local and foreign-language channels in itsdigital television services. It also offers several exclusive channels under the Hot brand name. In addition to the digital television services, Hot still[when?] provides ananalog television service, despite plans to abandon it by 2012, but it has already disconnected the analog service in many areas including central Israel, in favor of digital signals. Many HOT subscribers must now have a decoder box to view broadcasts.
Not long after it was created, Hot began offering local telecom service usingVoIP, a voice-over-internet technology andinternet access services as well. Hot is not anInternet service provider and is only permitted to offerlast-mile access. As of 2006[update], Hot had about 950,000 customers; 60% using the digital television services, over 400,000 using the internet services and over 100,000 using the phone services.[3]
As of late 2005, Hot offered a wideVOD service, offering content from almost all channels and content that is not broadcast by other companies.
In 2009, businessmanPatrick Drahi increased his stake in the company. Drahi completed the takeover in 2011, and offered to buy the remaining shares in 2012.[4][5][6][7] As a result, Hot is a part of Drahi's company,Altice Europe NV, as of 2018.
In December 2010, Hot received a license to operate as anInternet service provider in the form of a subsidiary.[8] In February 2021, Israel'sMinistry of Communications approved Hot'sNIS 170 million investment in thefiber-optic infrastructure venture IBC, subject to a number of antitrust conditions.[9]
In 2018, Hot started broadcastingKan 11 at4K resolution for the first time via channel 511.
Hot has been criticized for refusing to provide service to certain areas of Israel, despite being bound by contract to do so. Regions especially lacking are those that are predominantlyHaredi andArab-Israeli, as well as theArava. Hot responded that it already provided service for 95–98% of the country, and sought an official exemption from providing them to certain areas, where the decision lies with the Communications Ministry.[10]
Hot has been accused of using extortionist tactics in its customer service, including refusal to log customer requests to cancel service, and sending repeated bills after termination of service. Hot has been accused of racketeering and faces multiple class action suits.
Hot also used to be well known for the longest waiting times for customer service in Israel, they have been forced to reduce await times from hours to 3 minutes, and have the option for a callback.
On 12 February 2020, theUnited Nations published adatabase of companies doing business related in theWest Bank, includingEast Jerusalem, as well as in the occupiedGolan Heights.[11] Hot Telecom was listed on the database on account of its activities inIsraeli settlements in these occupied territories,[12] which the UN considersillegal under international law.[13]
In Israeli areas of the West Bank, known in Israel asJudea and Samaria, the cable company was Cabletech (כבלתק), based out ofAriel.[14][15] The company used Golden Channels' infrastructure. In October 2003, it was testing cable telephony.[16]
In February 2016, Hot released a commercial with Altice's then-brand ambassador, Portuguese footballerCristiano Ronaldo, featuring three Israeli comedians touting Hot's 200MB speed. On Twitter and Facebook, this was seen with a negative lens from pro-Palestine supporters and Arab netizens, as well as allusions to the 2014 Gaza war. Within three days, the video amassed 130,000 views and a 2:1 dislike-like ratio.[17]
(in English)| Multichannel television |
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