ANATOLY GOLOMOLZIN: GOOD WORK OFTEN REMAINS UNNOTICED EXACTLY DUE TO ITS EFFICIENCY

Deputy Head of FAS was a speaker at the RBC Annual Conference – “New Telecom 2019 in the digital epoch” where participants discussed the key amendments to the industry regulation as well as building up digital infrastructure and personal data

Among the most significant achievements in 2019, he listed FAS efforts to abolish intra-Russian roaming. The objective was put under the frame of executing the order of the President of Russia on the National Competition Development Plan. FAS efforts in this are were recognized by the International Competition Network (that unites all antimonopoly bodies in the world) иand the World Bank as the best antimonopoly practice of the year in the digital field (https://fas.gov.ru/news/27753, https://fas.gov.ru/news/27720).

“Tariffs were reduced by 2 - 10 times, consumers got a possibility to save no less that 6 billion RUB per year, communications providers did not lose income since increased consumer loyalty translated into an increase of the traffic  proportionally to the tariff reduction. FAS enforcement practice for abolishing intra-Russian roaming is formalized in the amendments to the Law “On Communications”, in such a manner that the issue is closed”, added Deputy Head of FAS.

The efforts on abolishing analogue broadcasting and a transition to the digital TV broadcasting are no less important. Switching off the analogue on-air broadcasting and a transition to the digital on-air broadcasting took place under the federal target programme for “Developing TV-broadcasting in the Russian Federation in 2009-2018”¹.

Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network built more than 5000 communications facilities to support broadcasting of 20 digital TV-channels.

Anatoly Golomolzin informed that during this period FAS as the tariff regulator ensured stage-by-stage tariff setting for newly commissioned equipment:

He added: “On the one hand, enormous work was done and on the other – it required fine tuning to support the balance of interests between Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Networkand TV companies providing digital broadcasting for practically all population of the Russian Federation. The tariffs for communications services for broadcasters decreased by orders, while spectators can now watch 20 programmes of high-quality I and II multiplexes free-of-charge. Poor reforms are always in rumours and are accompanied by scandals, while efficient work often remains unnoticeable exactly due to its efficiency”.

The transition to digital broadcasting took place after the necessary economic and technological work had been done. Tver was the first region, where analogue broadcasting was terminated on 3 December 2017. Then analogue broadcasting was switched off in 84 more regions: on 11 February (in 7 regions), on 15 April (in 20 regions), on 3 June (in 36 regions), on 14 October (in 21 regions).

“Here FAS had to be involved as the antimonopoly body”, said Deputy Head of FAS. “Typically antimonopoly investigations last for months, while in this case it took literally hours. Already on the first day of the pilot project in Tver FAS officers started inspections and registered an attempt of chain stores to unreasonably overrate prices for set top boxes and narrow their supply in the affordable price segment. A decision was mad promptly on opening cases and violations of the antimonopoly law were, as they say, nipped  in the bud – under the frame of the cases, chains reported about reducing prices and expanding supply of price- and quality-affordable set top boxes”.

Another significant achievements highlighted by Deputy Head of FAS, was organizing the work on drafting the law about pre-installing applications on information-and-communications platforms of subscriber devices. The measures aimed at pre-installment of domestic applications on subscriber devices and ensuring full removability of applications that do not affect device performance are specified in the Road Map for competition in the information technologies sector, that it approved by the Government of Russia and was devised to execute the Presidential Order “On the main directions of the state competition policy”.

“The findings on the cases on Google, Yandex application and Mail.ru are in the selection window, which enable fair competition. We used this precedent, in particular, when drafting the Road Map for competition in the information technologies sector, devising the Concept and a draft law on the relevant regulation. Domestic and international experience shows that pre-installed programs have an invariable competitive advantage over other programs that require a series of actions from users to activate them. Russian applications are sought-after by users, and are maximum adopted for the national specifics, but at the same time do not have equal conditions with pre-installed foreign software.  FAS supported a similar-oriented draft law, initiated by members of the parliament that has been passed in December 2019 and will come into effect in mid-2020. Now a Working Group of FAS Expert Council is discussing proposals on applying a new procedure for enforcement of this law”, pointed out Anatoly Golomolzin.

Deputy Head of FAS also outlined the plans for 2020 on regulatory amendments. (https://fas.gov.ru/news/29023)

Background:

¹ Approved by № 985 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation 03.12.2009.

* № 204 Order of 07.05.2018 approved the National goals and strategic objectives of the Russian Federation till 2024 in the part of developing digital economy, particular, through creating a system of legal regulation of digital economy, based on flexible approach in each sphere, and civil-law transactions using digital technologies.

№ 618 Order of the President of the Russian Federation of 21.12.2017 approved 2018-2020 National Competition Development Plan. The order states that improving antimonopoly regulation under the conditions of developing digital economy and its globalization in order to efficiently suppress cross-border antimonopoly violations and increase competitiveness of Russian companies on the international markets is one of the fundamental principles of the state policy on competition development. Systemic measures also include development of exchange trade, eliminating digital inequality, particularly by abolishing roaming in Russia.

To execute the National Competition Development Plan, the Government of the Russian Federation passed № 1697-r Order of 16.08.2018 to approved the Action Plan (Road Map) on developing competition on 18 sectoral markets in 2018 - 2020.