Complying with the antimonopoly law secures the main principles of network neutrality

Executing the Action Plan on “Developing Competition in Telecommunications”, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) drafted the “Report on Expediency of Implementing the Principles of Network Neutrality on Telecommunications Networks” which is forwarded to the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Report proposes to formalize the provisions that determine the network neutrality policy of the Russian Federation in the following normative-legal acts: the Federal Law “On Communications”, the Rules for Connecting Telecommunications Networks, and the Rules for Rendering Communications Services.

Public consultations on the normative legal acts that formalize the network neutrality principles started on 12 November 2014. At a public hearing on 27 January 2015 FAS had a meeting with representatives of the communications sector and info-communications community.

“Participants concluded that FAS Report should be taken as the basis for regulating relations between communications providers and consumers, including content providers related to compliance with the network neutrality principles. Experts reached a conclusion that compliance to the general norms of the antimonopoly law means supporting the main principles of network working neutrality. In follow-up of the meeting, a decision was made on expediency of establishing FAS Working Group on implementing the network neutrality principles in the Russian Federation with involvement of the regulator and market participants”, pointed out Deputy Head of FAS Anatoly Golomolzin.