Sprint phone bills will list all calls to Israel as being calls to Palestine-Fiction!

Sprint Phone Bills Will List All Calls to Israel as Being Calls to "The Palestinian Authority"-Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:
A lengthy email that claims to have documented the fact that on its phone bills, Sprint is listing calls to Israel as being calls to "The Palestinian Authority." The sender of the email claims to have checked with other long distance services and that AT&T said there is a new area code for Israel that is listed as Palestine, but that AT&T turned down the opportunity to use it because they could not find any country on the map called "Palestine." The email claims that the area code change was because of action by the International Telecommunications Union, which is not a government agency and has no regulatory authority. The writer of the email then says that the International Telecommunications Union is located in Geneva, which is a hang-out for Arabs. The email urges you to cancel your Sprint account in protest.

The Truth:
This eRumor gets a little complicated but the main fear of those who circulate it is that Sprint has made a political statement in the midst of controversy in the Middle East.

If Sprint really had decided to list all phone calls from places like Jerusalem as having been placed from "The Palestinian Authority," it would have been a significant slap at the Israelis.

According to its website, the International Telecommunications Union is an organization that helps coordinate the complex world of telecommunications. In a move that was opposed by Israel, the ITU decided in 1999 to grant a separate area code (970) to the areas from parts of Jerusalem to the Jordan river on the east that are sometimes referred to as the "Occupied West Bank." The Palestinian authority is the entity that handles practical governmental affairs for the Palestinians, so the area code is listed that way. If you dial into areas that are regarded as being under the umbrella of The Palestinian Authority, your Sprint phone bill will reflect that. In the same way, if you dial into Israeli areas outside of that, your Sprint bill will say that you called Israel.

A Sprint representative told TruthOrFiction.com, that Sprint uses the codes designated by the ITU and "...in no way expresses political or any other statements through its provision of service."

According to the folks at Sprint, there was another, temporary, problem with the listing of locations in the Middle East. When the new 970 area code came into being, there was a brief period when it was accidentally listed on their website as the code for "Palestine," but was quickly changed.

A real example of the story as it has been circulated:

If you use Sprint for your long distance service and place a call to anywhere in Israel, your bill will read that you called the Palestinian Authority.

I have verified this, and the evidence is below in the email correspondence I had with Sprint. (I have put the emails in order to make it more understandable, and removed all of the forwarding marks) To see what the other carriers do, I called them.

MCI said that if I call Israel, my bill will say that I called Israel.

ATT offered more information.   According to the ATT representative, on December 17, 1999, a second country code was approved for Israel. This code is 970, and is listed as Palestine.

In order to use this code, a long distance carrier has to apply for a special tariff.   ATT did not apply for the tariff because they could not find Palestine on any map.   Since there is no Palestine, they saw it prudent to name the 972 and 970 country codes Israel.

Sprint said that the "new displays (on the phone bill) will read Palestinian Authority as referenced by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

The ITU established the exact wording for these codes as set by international agreement.   I checked into the ITU. It is an independent Union, not a regulatory agency, and it has no official position, nor any formal international agreement between any nations or any regulatory agency.

The ITU is based in Geneva, where Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries like to convene. (Today's news from Geneva reads: "Another Five Saudi Royal Planes Land at Geneva Airport - As Well As Private Aircraft of Qatari Ruler Emir el-Nayan").

In other words, Sprint had to apply for a tariff in order to say that your phone call to Jerusalem is to the PA.   Yes, I asked specifics - if I call Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, the Sprint bill will say that I called the Palestinian Authority. If you would like to join me in canceling your Sprint and/or EarthLink accounts (Sprint owns EarthLink) we will be able to send them and their terrorist friends a powerful message. Please urge all of your friends to do the same. Warm regards, Elyse