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- Collective conscious: telecom operators will be able to use a single infrastructure in sparsely populated areas
Collective conscious: telecom operators will be able to use a single infrastructure in sparsely populated areas
Telecom operators will be able to share the communication infrastructure in small towns. This initiative was approved in the State Duma. It will allow operators to reduce the cost of building new facilities, experts say. However, in the case of the implementation of the new rule, the issue of competition is acute, because each operator, investing in the development of its own networks, aims to obtain benefits, and it is impossible to calculate it when working together, experts warn. What the adopted law will change is in the Izvestia article.
Linked together
In the third and final reading, State Duma deputies adopted a bill obliging telecom operators to share communications infrastructure in settlements where up to 1,000 people live. The measure will also apply to certain sections of federal highways.
The obligation to provide communication services in such territories will affect large operators operating in at least two thirds of the country's regions. Thanks to the innovations, each operator will not need to install its own infrastructure separately — it will be enough for one company to organize it.
The specific list of territories for the joint use of base stations by operators will be determined by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport. To be included in this list, villages and road sections must meet the following conditions:
— to be located in the territory where radio-electronic facilities of one of the major operators have been operating for more than 1 year;
— these distribution zones can be used in at least two thirds of the territory;
— the operator who owns the distribution zone has confirmed the possibility of joint use.
After the inclusion of a locality or road section in the list, an operator who does not have a base station there is obliged to contact the owner of the distribution zone to conclude an agreement on the joint use of infrastructure. He, in turn, undertakes to conclude such an agreement, ensuring equal conditions for all operators who apply to him.
"The adoption of the bill will create conditions for the smooth functioning of communication networks and the continuous provision of communication services to subscribers and users, including government agencies and socially significant facilities, and will not lead to a deterioration in the situation of business entities," the explanatory note to the bill emphasizes.
The Ministry of Finance, commenting on the adoption of the initiative, noted that the lack of coverage for large operators in rural settlements and on certain sections of federal highways often complicates the work of emergency services and deprives citizens of the opportunity to fully communicate and use services. However, it is economically impractical for all operators to install their base stations in these territories due to the low payback. To solve the problem, the law establishes the possibility of sharing equipment.
The ministry believes that this measure will make telecom services more accessible, allowing operators to use their existing equipment more efficiently without additional costs when solving the problem of covering federal highways and sparsely populated areas.
A profitable move
The creation of a joint infrastructure will be beneficial for telecom operators, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of the information and analytical agency TelecomDaily.
— Sharing base stations is rational. It is too expensive for each operator to install the equipment. And this is not very beneficial in the case of highways, where there are practically no settlements, and the number of people passing there is small. A single infrastructure is a good way to solve the problem of connecting such territories," the expert believes.
Sharing infrastructure will allow operators to reduce the cost of building new facilities in areas where there are few subscribers, agrees Dmitry Bondar, a public figure and housing and communal services expert.
— They will be able to pay for access to existing towers instead of building their own. This looks like smart savings for all market participants, because building several identical structures is an unnecessary waste of materials and money," the Izvestia interlocutor is convinced.
The approach proposed by the authorities is necessary for operators, as it will allow them to enforce licensing agreements, according to which they must cover a certain distance along highways, says Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group.
At the same time, the sharing of infrastructure by different telecom operators will not lead to rapid wear of equipment, Kuskov is sure.
"There are not many users in these territories who can fully occupy the lane, which means that the load will not be too high," he expects.
Cooper does not worry about equipment wear and tear. The main issue in the case of infrastructure sharing is the load on the transmitters.
— If too many people are connected to one station, everyone's Internet speed may drop. However, the law apparently has a protection against this: the operator-owner may not provide access if his network is already operating at the limit of its capabilities, the expert draws attention.
However, the new norm will not be able to fully solve the communication problem, because operators have already installed infrastructure wherever they could do it, Murtazin believes.
— The implementation of the initiative may lead to the opposite effect — operators will begin to reduce the number of their base stations by switching to infrastructure sharing. It will be more economically feasible for them than maintaining a duplicate infrastructure," the analyst warns.
An imperfect initiative
In general, the market supports the initiative, says Alexey Sturov, President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies. But there are several problems that can be encountered when implementing it. In particular, such a measure, in his opinion, is unlikely to solve the problems with ensuring uninterrupted communication in these territories, because each operator, investing in the development of its own networks, aims to benefit. And it is impossible to calculate the benefits of sharing the infrastructure.
— Now we are witnessing a struggle between operators for the shrinking market of mobile users. And with the adoption of this bill, each operator will also have to take into account the factor of competitor penetration into the territory of sharing communications facilities, and through its own infrastructure. Would it be interesting for an operator to build their networks in such a way that they can then, even for money, place a competitor on them? — the expert wonders.
The owner of this network will not be interested in letting competitors in on payment terms that are not established by the rules, agrees Sergey Yefimov, General Director of the Association of Telephone Operators.
— Such use is rational only from a technical point of view if all operators work not for their own income, but for the income of a single operator. And in a competitive market economy, there may be different results, depending on a number of circumstances, including depending on the size of the operator consuming such a service," he clarifies.
In addition, it is important to take into account that the quality of communication and coverage are the main reasons for the customer's choice of an operator, adds Sturov. And such a competitive advantage in the territories of joint use of communication facilities is being lost.
Another aspect of the bill that is worth paying attention to is the issue of the technical feasibility of sharing electronic means, the Izvestia interlocutor believes.
— Each operator sets not only the capacity of the service, the fault tolerance of the equipment, but also the approximate service life. And the bill does not provide an answer to the question of what the other operators will do after this period," the expert draws attention to.
He notes that recently a large number of documents have been adopted regulating the activities of the telecom industry. And not all of these legislative initiatives are understandable to specialists working in this field.
— There are a lot of such examples. And I want every legislative act that is adopted to solve the problem, and not to be a message for further discussions and creating problems," urges Sturov.
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