Experts discussed standardization of regional efforts to provide access to the communications infrastructure

The Working groups of FAS Expert Council on Communications had a meeting on 18 February.

The agenda included items on exposing problems in TV and radio broadcasting and drafting amendments to the regional competition development standards in the part of providing access of operators to the regional infrastructure facilities.

The Council made a decision that FAS will be publishing a “White Book” with recommendations and examples for the regions on simplifying operator access to the facilities in state and municipal property.

Participants presented several examples that deserve to be included in the “White Book”:  regulatory acts of the Moscow Government (1) that regularized pricing for use of Moscow property to install base stations and approved the list of facilities for priority installment of the means of mobile wireless communications; and the “Road Map” of the Irkutsk region designed to create favorable conditions in the province (2).

In the expert opinion, the best practices described in the “White Book” will help draft amendments to legislative acts. By mid-April proposals on changing the Government instructions (3) must be submitted to the Ministry of the Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

Deputy Head of FAS Anatoly Golomolzin pointed out that the document regulates the work of regional authorities by devising standard “Road Map” on developing competition on the communications market. It will specify a sequence of actions, the required acts, a mechanism of work, the target parameters and the avenues to achieve them.

The Working Group on devising measures aimed at developing competition in TV and radio broadcasting reviewed valid НПА (4), and difficulties of applying them in practice. The WG also discussed the issues of providing proper competitive conditions on the market of communications services for the purposes of TV and radio broadcasting, the ways and methods of overcoming them.

Participants agreed to clarify for the next meeting a list of normative legal and departmental acts that must be amended as well as the areas of improving competitive conditions on the market of communications services for the purposes of TV and radio broadcasting.

Reference:

1. No. 752-RP Order of Moscow Government "Об approving the List of the Moscow facilities in state property for priority installation of the equipment of base stations of mobile wireless communications " of 29.11.2012 and No. 440-PP Decree of Moscow Government of 15.07.2015 that approved the rates of monthly lease fee for installing equipment for the base stations for the facilities included in the List.

2. No. 313-rp Instructions of the Government of the Irkutsk region "On approving the Action Plan (“Road Map”) on “Creating favourable conditions for developing communications infrastructure in the Irkutsk region” of 16.06.2015

3. No. 1738-r Instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation “On approving the competition development standard in the subjects of the Russian Federation” of 05.09.2015

4. 01.09.2015 No. 326 Order of the Ministry of Communications "On Approving the Conditions for confirming technical possibility or its absence  to accept a signal by connecting  a communications network of an operator of mandatory public-access TV channels and (or) radio channels to the communications network specified in Clause 2 Article 19.2 of No. 126-FZ Federal Law "On Communications” of 7 July 2003 (registered in the Ministry of Justice on 20.10.2015 No. 39378 entry record) and No. 327  Order of the Ministry of Communications "On approving the Requirements to the quality of sound and (or) image of mandatory public-access TV channels and (or) radio channels" of 1 September 2015; No. 8-FZ Federal Law "On providing access to information about the work of the authorities and local self-government bodies” of 09.02.2009 (an edition of version of 28.11.2015).