Getting in touch with marketplaces – Kommersant FM
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Head of Rostelecom (MOEX: RTKM) suggested that marketplaces invest in communication networks; we can talk about collection from online stores and other Internet companies. At the Telecom 2024 conference, Mikhail Oseevsky spoke in favor of abolishing the principle of network neutrality. This rule means that operators do not give priority to any service when passing traffic. Mr. Oseevsky has been proposing to abandon this approach for several years. They also discussed collections from online cinemas, which put a particularly heavy load on networks.
But is it logical to charge fees from marketplaces? Denis Kuskov, CEO of the TelecomDaily agency, answered this question to Kommersant FM: “The operator incurs large-scale infrastructure costs. Now there is no Russian equipment, imported equipment is not available, and in 2025-2026, when supplies of domestic equipment begin, it will cost twice as much.
Marketplaces, in general, are doing quite well, I don’t know about the tax, but maybe they could pay some interest on their turnover.
If we talk about the load on the networks from their side, then it is not so great. Indeed, it has been said many times about both Google and online cinemas, but in fact, the latter are almost all unprofitable at the moment. Therefore, now, in contrast to them, marketplaces are super profitable companies. That’s probably why they get so much attention.”
In 2023 Russian Post offered impose a so-called infrastructure tax on marketplaces; the money was supposed to go towards the development of branches. But the government rejected this idea. The head of the Infoline-Analytics company, Mikhail Burmistrov, believes that the fee in favor of operators will also remain at the level of an idea: “Marketplace is a major player with trillions in turnover, and therefore it is very tempting to build some kind of relationship with these four companies in one form or another related to financial contributions.
In fact, if we look at the financial indicators of our largest sites, we will see very little profit from Wildberries. Moreover, its formation is to a certain extent connected, among other things, with some penalties in relation to suppliers and sellers.
Ozon does have positive EBITDA, but no net profit, the company is unprofitable. Yandex has a negative EBITDA of online business, Megamarket has a similar situation, they are characterized by the largest loss among all marketplaces.
Therefore, any additional fees do not seem logical in this regard.”
In turn, Rostelecom explained that the list of companies that can pay royalties on communication networks has not yet been discussed.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.
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