The Russian government is considering major new changes to regulations governing ownership of radio frequencies, reports Vedomosti, a Russian business daily. If adopted, the changes would fundamentally alter the existing Law on Telecommunications, passed in 2003. Under the proposed new changes, mobile and telecommunications operators will have the right to share, buy, and sell telecommunications frequencies.
Under the current legislation, frequencies are assigned to one operator and cannot be sold or shared, even partially. In the event that a company holding frequency rights goes out of business, the frequencies normally return to state ownership. According to the 2004 provision, the only way to acquire a frequency is either to win a tender or to acquire an entity that already holds a frequency. Even in the event of such a purchase, the acquisition of a telecom company requires the new owner to reapply for frequencies the company owned prior to acquisition.
The proposed changes in legislation would open the way to agreements between operators to deploy or exploit networks jointly. Earlier this year, Russia’s leading mobile and telecommunications operators agreed to establish a joint venture for developing an LTE network.
The government also plans to allow private companies to provide a variety of other telecommunications services—such as data transfer or telematic services—without the need for a state issued license, provided that the services do not require a frequency or any other limited public resources.
