A small number: in Russia they want to reduce the number of telecom companies
The authorities want to remove some of the small telecom operators at the city and district levels from the market. In particular, tougher licensing requirements are being discussed, including the minimum amount of authorized capital and the cost of licenses. According to experts, such measures can lead to a decrease in competition and an increase in communication tariffs, but at the same time they can increase market transparency: small companies often do not comply with legal requirements and provide services of inadequate quality.
What requirements do they want to tighten for telecom companies?
The rules for licensing the provision of communications services in the Russian Federation may become tougher — new conditions for issuing permits are currently being discussed by the Ministry of Finance and market participants. This was reported to Izvestia by two sources familiar with officials of relevant departments. These are only preliminary proposals so far, one of them clarified.
Among the proposals is the introduction of three types of licenses, the cost of obtaining which, depending on the category, can range from 1 million to 50 million rubles, follows from the discussion materials reviewed by the editorial staff. It is also proposed not to issue such permits to individual entrepreneurs. For repeated gross violation of the terms of the operator's license, it is proposed to revoke it without a court decision, and the beneficiaries of the company will not be able to get a new one for the next 10 years.
The materials also mention the introduction of a minimum amount of authorized capital for telecommunications companies — 5-100 million rubles, depending on the type of license. The proposal is made separately that the company cannot start providing communication services without implementing the requirements for connection to the system of operational investigative measures (SORM).
These measures are aimed at improving the level of communication security, combating gray and illegal operators, as well as ensuring the full implementation of SORM and data protection requirements, said Anton Averyanov, CEO of the ST IT Group of companies, TechNet NTI market expert.
— With the growth of cyber threats and the increasing complexity of the technical infrastructure, the government is striving to increase the responsibility of market participants and exclude unscrupulous players from it. The measures are still under discussion, and their final format has not yet been determined, but it is already clear that they are very serious," he said.
The Ministry of Finance told Izvestia that initiatives aimed at combating unscrupulous telecom operators are indeed being discussed with businesses and interested departments.
— They find a positive response in the industry. However, no specific decisions have been made yet," the ministry's press service said.
The change in licensing conditions will lead to the fact that only reliable telecom operators will offer services in the telecom market, they believe. In addition, it will improve the efficiency of meeting the requirements of legislation in the field of communications. The advantages are an increase in the quality and accessibility of communication services, according to the Ministry of Finance. The departure of unscrupulous players will not negatively affect the Russian telecom market - all initiatives should benefit subscribers, they will be carefully discussed, the department stressed.
Representatives of the largest Russian telecommunications companies declined to comment or did not respond to questions from Izvestia. Taken together, the proposed measures will lead to a reduction in the number of small telecommunications companies and market consolidation, said Alkhas Mirzabekov, CEO of the Moscow-based YESK operator.
— On the one hand, it will be easier for the state to monitor compliance by the remaining operators with licensing conditions and other industry requirements, for example, regarding connections to SORM. On the other hand, this will lead to less competition in the market and, ultimately, to an increase in tariffs for home Internet and pay TV," he said.
According to him, the demand for the services of small operators is high now: for example, only in Moscow and the Moscow region there are about 1.5 thousand such companies, they serve about 30% of home Internet users.
Alkhas Mirzabekov sees the proposed measures as having a positive impact on the industry. For example, the introduction of minimum geographical coverage requirements for licensee operators. This will avoid situations where a tiny company provides services that do not meet any quality and information security standards in two or three business centers, he believes.
What will the new rules bring to operators and their subscribers?
Karen Ghazaryan, Director of the Internet Research Institute, believes that the proposals need to be finalized before they can be formalized in the form of amendments to the Law on Communications and other regulations. In particular, he considers the requirement for an operator to receive at least 50% of revenue from communication services controversial, since a company can have significant revenue from non-telecommunications, including ecosystem services.
The expert agrees with the need to streamline the activities of small companies that do not comply with industry requirements, including connection to SORM, as well as tax obligations. However, he notes that such players often work in niches where the activities of large operators are economically impractical. In this regard, in his opinion, it is important to provide mechanisms for uninterrupted customer service when they switch to other operators.
— If the number of telecom operators in Russia is greatly reduced by the methods of strict regulation, then everyone will suffer from this. First of all, the consumer, who will face an increase in tariffs of the remaining players and at the same time with a lower geographical availability of their services," says Leonid Konik, partner at ComNews Resource.
In his opinion, this may also affect major players. At the same time, some of the new initiatives of the Ministry of Finance look sound, Leonid Konik said. In particular, the introduction of an annual fee for the numbering resource.
— In many regions of the Russian Federation, only the largest players have available rooms, which do not give them to affiliated operators. As soon as they have to pay annually for each number, this numbering resource will immediately enter the market," the expert pointed out.
On the one hand, it is increasingly difficult for very small operators to comply with the requirements of the law, in particular, regarding SORM and countering cyber threats, said Konstantin Ankilov, CEO of TMT Consulting. On the other hand, local providers play an important role in providing Internet users and maintaining a competitive environment, which additionally encourages large operators to ensure high quality and offer services at a competitive price, he concluded.
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