FAS will walk on the roofs – Newspaper Kommersant No. 19 (7464) dated 02/02/2023
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The government proposed to transfer to the Federal Antimonopoly Service the authority to control the conditions and cost of placing communication networks on state-owned objects – buildings, structures, roofs and supports. Operators support the idea, counting on an increase in the transparency of tariffs. But experts doubt that the service will have enough competencies for an objective assessment.
“Kommersant” got acquainted with the draft law on amending the law “On Communications”, which was developed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and submitted to the State Duma by the government on February 1. It follows from it that the authority to check the order of access of the telecom operator to state-owned objects is assigned to the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). It will check the procedure for the formation of fees for the use of such property by operators.
The document spelled out cases of motivated refusal to place communication facilities at state facilities. Among them, for example, creating a threat to security and law and order, non-compliance with urban planning standards, lack of technical capability, as well as work on the overhaul or reconstruction of buildings.
Now the procedure for renting out property is determined by each owner, which makes the procedure non-transparent, the explanatory note to the document says. At the same time, the operators’ already deployed infrastructure is “objectively insufficient, and communication organizations need new sites.” The bill is intended to create a “transparent system of interaction between telecom operators and authorities.” If adopted, the document will enter into force on 1 September.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service reported to Kommersant that now up to 30% of the lease payments of telecom operators are payments for the lease of state and municipal property: “The service considers it extremely important to establish a transparent procedure for access and pricing for such services.” The Ministry of Digital Development did not answer “Kommersant”.
This initiative is included in the list of measures to support the economy against the backdrop of sanctions, which was sent last spring to the ministries by the office of First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov (see Kommersant dated April 24, 2022). But this is not the first time the question has been raised. The possibility of simplifying the access of operators to state property was discussed back in 2015. In 2016, the FAS proposed to the Ministry of Economy to change the competition standards in the subjects to solve the problem of operators’ access to state infrastructure. In a number of regions, operators still complain about non-transparent deployment procedures, which affects the cost of building and operating networks (see Kommersant of April 22).
The largest market participants support the new initiative. “Ensuring comfortable conditions for the development of communication networks requires an early decision at the legislative level,” VimpelCom believes. Operators will be able to improve the quality and accessibility of services for the population by expanding network coverage, MegaFon believes: “In addition, the cost of placement will become transparent to the entire market.” Tele2 agrees with this. The MTS adds that the amendments “will reduce the number of disputes” when placing communication facilities.
A unified approach to the use of state and municipal property will eliminate the fragmentation between the rules for access to it, admits TelecomDaily CEO Denis Kuskov: “In every city there are buildings owned by federal and regional structures, and at each level, operators may be given different reasons for refusing to place “. But the expert does not undertake to assess “how the FAS will control equal conditions for operators, since the logic of the service cannot always be understood.”
The antimonopoly authorities will ensure that there are no unreasonable advantages for individual operators on the ground, independent antimonopoly lawyer Natalia Pantyukhina believes: “But the government, regions or municipalities will set the prices for services, according to the project, and the FAS will only check their validity.”
The Federal Antimonopoly Service will primarily lobby the interests of the authorities and state institutions with which it is to conclude an agreement, which, under unfavorable conditions for operators, can lead to an increase in tariffs, reminds the general director of Orderkom Dmitry Galushko. In his opinion, the service simply “does not have enough competent employees to objectively assess the cost of placing networks.”
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