Due to return checks
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Over nine months, 2.8 times more protocols were drawn up against the largest Russian telecom operators for violations of the use of the radio frequency spectrum and lack of permits to operate base stations than in the same period a year earlier. The volume of protocols returned to growth this year after the moratorium on inspections was lifted. Market participants fear that the new regulation will lead to problems with network connectivity: Roskomnadzor can now terminate licenses for base stations for violations.
Based on the results of nine months of 2023, Roskomnadzor drew up 28 thousand protocols against Russian telecom operators for violations in the use of the radio frequency spectrum and lack of permits to operate base stations (BS), the department told Kommersant. His representative clarified that during the same period a year earlier, more than 10 thousand protocols were drawn up, and in the first nine months of 2021 – 42 thousand.
In total, based on the results of 2022, it follows from the report on the activities of Roskomnadzor, published in October, the total amount of fines that the four largest operators paid for violations decreased by almost 20% over the year, to 67 million rubles. The total number of protocols drawn up against operators decreased almost tenfold, to 3.7 thousand. Roskomnadzor explained the decrease in the number of protocols against operators by changes in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, according to which an inspection was required to draw them up, as well as a moratorium on inspections. Restrictions were lifted on January 1, 2023. The largest amount of fines in 2022 was paid by MegaFon (24 million rubles), in second place – VimpelCom (21 million rubles), in third place – MTS (13 million rubles), and in fourth place – Tele2 (8. 9 million rubles). From the Roskomnadzor report for 2021 it follows that the ratio of the number of violations among operators was similar. Judging by Roskomnadzor data, at the beginning of 2023 in Russia the total number of operating base stations was 1.1 million units (see graph).
The violations are due to the fact that the installation of a BS facility takes one to two months, and the issuance of permits takes six months, explained Kommersant’s interlocutor at one of the telecom operators: “The “distortion” remains, despite all the accelerations and optimizations undertaken by the regulator. This is due to the fact that almost the entire spectrum in the Russian Federation is either a priority for law enforcement agencies or is used jointly with them.” Any frequency assignment is made only with the agreement of these departments, which affects the timing of issuing permits, the source clarifies. Tele2 said that they agree with the results presented and the company’s position on the Roskomnadzor list. MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom declined to comment.
In July 2023, the State Duma adopted amendments to the Law “On Communications”, according to which the list of licensing requirements for the provision of communication services includes the condition of compliance with the scheme for passing traffic through technical means of countering threats within the framework of the law on the “sovereign Internet”. If an operator violates the conditions for issuing licenses, in particular, does not comply with the traffic flow scheme, Roskomnadzor can “terminate” the license. Now a license can only be canceled by a court decision, and Roskomnadzor issues a fine for violations.
Fines for violation of the use of the radio frequency spectrum are issued if the base station does not operate on allocated frequencies or in an approved location, explains Alexey Slukin, editor of the specialized Telegram channel Telekommunalka: “Basically, such violations occur and are recorded either immediately after construction or after modernization site (the place where the equipment is deployed.— “Kommersant”), carried out by unscrupulous contractors.”
Alexey Boyko, an analyst at the specialized Telegram channel @abloud62, believes that the decrease in the number of fines is due to the fact that after the departure of foreign vendors and the increasing complexity of purchasing foreign equipment, operators were forced to reduce the number of base station deployments.
Kommersant’s interlocutor on the telecom market notes that the introduction of new regulation regarding licensing requirements threatens that the department will terminate the license instead of fines: “In this case, the BS with the violation will have to be turned off, and restoring the license will take time, while payment operators actually laid down funds in advance for fines, and the BS continued to work.” In his opinion, this situation could threaten to reduce the connectivity of networks.
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