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- Window connection: mobile networks of all operators will appear in small villages and villages
Window connection: mobile networks of all operators will appear in small villages and villages
Operators will be required to provide cellular communications to villages and villages with a population of more than 2 thousand people by March 31, 2027. This follows from the draft decision of the State Commission on Radio Frequencies. Earlier, T2 received a similar order. Currently, mobile communications are available in 95% of small towns, but not all operators are represented in each of them. How increased competition can affect tariffs for subscribers is described in the "Izvestia" article.
When small villages and villages are fully connected
""MegaFon", "VimpelCom" and MTS must provide cellular communications to 100% of settlements with more than 2 thousand people by March 31, 2027. This follows from the draft decision of the State Commission on Radio Frequencies (SCR), whose meeting is scheduled for the end of September. Earlier, the State Emergency Committee issued a similar order to the T2 operator.
According to the Ministry of Digital Economy, there are no settlements in Russia with a population of 2 thousand people or more, where there is no mobile connection. Each of them has at least one operator's coverage, the agency said. At the same time, each company remains in the 2000+ category, where it does not provide the necessary level of communication, although other operators provide appropriate services.
""At the next meeting of the commission, it is planned, among other things, to consider the conditions for extending the decision of the State Committee for Emergency Situations concerning the allocation of frequency bands to three operators — MTS, "MegaFon" and "Beeline". In particular, requirements are being introduced for operators who do not comply with the schedule for covering settlements with a population of at least 2 thousand people with LTE networks in the ranges allocated by the decision of the State Emergency Committee," the ministry told "Izvestia".
The radio frequency spectrum for T2 was allocated in accordance with other decisions of the GCRF and under different conditions. At the same time, obligations to cover settlements are provided for all mobile operators, and the Ministry of Finance monitors their implementation, the department added.
"Izvestia" sent inquiries to MTS and T2. ""MegaFon" and "VimpelCom" declined to comment.
— The regulator requires that each of these operators eliminate gaps in their own network. For residents, this means being able to choose between several companies and having a backup network in case of disruptions. For the state, it is also a tool for monitoring that the frequencies allocated to operators are actually used," said Oleg Yablokov, NTI expert on wireless communications.
The economics of such projects remain difficult: there are few subscribers in small towns, and the construction of base stations, electricity connection, and communication channels require significant costs. Without mandatory requirements, operators will implement such projects last, Oleg Yablokov pointed out.
According to Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research, the issue of providing cellular communications to villages and villages with a population of over 2,000 people was raised by the State Emergency Committee back in 2013. At that time, the commission allowed mobile operators to use GSM-900 (890-915 MHz and 935-960 MHz) frequencies in 3G networks, and GSM-1800 (1710-1785 MHz and 1805-1880 MHz) frequencies in LTE networks.
— But in order for cellular companies not to focus exclusively on the mobile Internet, forgetting about voice communication and basic services, the GCR has established coverage obligations for them. Since then, all operators that extended or received frequencies in the range below 1 GHz had to provide mobile communications to settlements with a population of more than 1 thousand people. In the range from 1 to 2.2 GHz, it was necessary to cover all villages with a population of more than 2 thousand people, and in the frequency bands of 2.2–3 GHz — with a population of 10 thousand people," he said.
According to him, cellular companies were actively transferring GSM frequencies to 3G and LTE networks, but they were in no hurry to build base stations in small towns, since in 2013 the State Emergency Committee did not set specific deadlines. Now such deadlines have been determined, the expert added.
How will the situation affect tariffs for the population
Settlements with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants will be fully equipped with mobile communications only by the end of this decade, experts say.
"As part of the digital inequality 2.0 elimination program, Rostelecom, at the expense of the Universal Services Fund, should provide GSM and LTE connectivity to about 24,000 settlements with a population of 100 to 1,000 people by 2030," Leonid Konik recalled. "In 2021-2025, Rostelecom and its subsidiary T2 provided coverage in 7.88 thousand settlements from this list."
The government's demands are fully justified: residents of Russia, including in remote settlements, should have the same choice of operators and a range of services as residents of large cities, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. According to him, competition, as practice shows, has a positive effect on tariffs: as the number of operators increases, the rate of price growth decreases.
At the same time, the deployment of networks in small settlements with a small number of subscribers is often unprofitable, which hinders the development of infrastructure, the expert pointed out. Currently, only one operator receives compensation for the provision of socially significant but unprofitable services. In his opinion, it is advisable to extend this practice to all market participants working in small towns.
The experience of other projects, in particular highway telephony, shows that operators need additional support to develop communications in areas with low subscriber density, said Karen Ghazaryan, Director of the Internet Research Institute. According to him, regional authorities and owners of related infrastructure, such as road organizations, will help provide mobile communications to small and remote settlements. In particular, we may be talking about providing operators with land plots for the construction of base stations.
Operators will also be able to save money on deploying networks in such areas by sharing infrastructure, such as antenna and mast structures, the expert believes.
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