The law “On Communications” may be amended “substantially”

    Deputy Maxim Korobov is preparing a draft amendment to the law "On Communications", which he intends to submit for consideration by the State Duma in September, Prime-TASS reports .

    According to Vitaliy Slizen, deputy assistant, the amendments relate to Section 2 of the law. The article defines operators that occupy a significant position in public networks. Korobov proposes to extend the possibility of recognizing the operator as essential for all participants in the telecom market. This means that one of the first contenders for such recognition will be the Big Three operators - MTS, VimpelCom, Megafon.
    Under Article 2, significant operators must keep separate records of their income and expenses. Their tariffs for connection and traffic transit (inter-operator settlements) are regulated by the state. Significant operators do not have the right to refuse other market participants to join their network.

    Currently, only large fixed-line telecom operators are recognized as de facto significant.

    Vitaliy Slizen noted that separate accounting of income and expenses allows, in particular, to establish the cost of a call from mobile to mobile or from fixed to mobile.

    However, at present, mobile operators either do not keep such records, or simply do not disclose its results. If the concept of a “substantial operator” will be extended to MTS, VimpelCom and Megafon, this will oblige the company to prepare appropriate reports. The Antimonopoly Service, in turn, will be able to understand whether there are reasons to increase the cost of the first minute of a conversation.

    Commenting on the introduction by the mobile operators of the “Big Three” of various inter-operator tariffs, Slizen noted that the Federal Antimonopoly Service “correctly opened a case regarding the infringement of the rights of small mobile operators”, since, according to Article 19 of the Law “On Communications”, operators must set inter-operator tariffs within one subject of the Federation.


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