About 1.5 thousand small providers in Moscow and the Moscow region were under threat of closure.
The Ministry of Figures together with market participants is discussing the tightening of licensing rules for telecom operators. This was told to Izvestia by two sources familiar with officials of relevant departments. The initiatives are also confirmed by RBC interlocutors in the telecommunications industry. One of the sources said that we are still talking about preliminary proposals.
According to the materials for the discussion, which were reviewed by the publication, it is proposed to introduce three types of licenses worth from 1 million to 50 million rubles, depending on the category. Individual entrepreneurs are not allowed licenses. For repeated gross violation of the terms of the license of the operator is proposed to deprive it without a court decision, and the beneficiaries of such companies will not be able to obtain a new license within 10 years. It also provides for the introduction of the minimum size of the authorized capital - from 5 to 100 million rubles, depending on the type of license. Separately, it is stipulated that the company will not be able to start providing communication services without connecting to the system of operational-search measures (SORM).
The Ministry of Finance confirmed that the initiatives are being discussed with business and interested departments, and reported that they find a positive response in the industry, but no specific decisions have yet been made. The department also expressed confidence that the changes will leave only reliable operators on the market and increase the efficiency of compliance with the requirements of the legislation. Representatives of the largest Russian operators declined to comment or did not respond to requests from the publication.
The experts interviewed by Izvestia agree that the proposed measures will lead to the consolidation of the market and the departure of small operators. The consequence of this may be a decrease in competition and an increase in tariffs for home Internet and pay TV. At the same time, small operators play a significant role: only in Moscow and the Moscow region there are about 1.5 thousand, and they serve about 30% of home Internet users.
Among the proposals are those that experts assess positively. In particular, the introduction of an annual fee for the numbering resource can release numbers that large players do not transfer to the connected operators.
The Ministry of Figures together with market participants is discussing the tightening of licensing rules for telecom operators. This was told to Izvestia by two sources familiar with officials of relevant departments. The initiatives are also confirmed by RBC interlocutors in the telecommunications industry. One of the sources said that we are still talking about preliminary proposals.
According to the materials for the discussion, which were reviewed by the publication, it is proposed to introduce three types of licenses worth from 1 million to 50 million rubles, depending on the category. Individual entrepreneurs are not allowed licenses. For repeated gross violation of the terms of the license of the operator is proposed to deprive it without a court decision, and the beneficiaries of such companies will not be able to obtain a new license within 10 years. It also provides for the introduction of the minimum size of the authorized capital - from 5 to 100 million rubles, depending on the type of license. Separately, it is stipulated that the company will not be able to start providing communication services without connecting to the system of operational-search measures (SORM).
The Ministry of Finance confirmed that the initiatives are being discussed with business and interested departments, and reported that they find a positive response in the industry, but no specific decisions have yet been made. The department also expressed confidence that the changes will leave only reliable operators on the market and increase the efficiency of compliance with the requirements of the legislation. Representatives of the largest Russian operators declined to comment or did not respond to requests from the publication.
The experts interviewed by Izvestia agree that the proposed measures will lead to the consolidation of the market and the departure of small operators. The consequence of this may be a decrease in competition and an increase in tariffs for home Internet and pay TV. At the same time, small operators play a significant role: only in Moscow and the Moscow region there are about 1.5 thousand, and they serve about 30% of home Internet users.
Among the proposals are those that experts assess positively. In particular, the introduction of an annual fee for the numbering resource can release numbers that large players do not transfer to the connected operators.
