Virtual question

Virtual question
On the sixth of June the meeting of the governmental commission on communication under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich will take place


The governmental commission will discuss development of virtual operators. Their achievements in Russia are small, but to force operators to open the networks does not follow, experts consider.

On the sixth of June the meeting of the governmental commission on communication under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich will take place, two persons who received the invitation to participate in it told "Sheets". Among other things the commission plans to discuss development in Russia of mobile virtual operators (MVNO). It was confirmed by the head of department of control of transport and communication of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) Dmitry Rutenberg who reported that representatives of his department will participate also in a meeting.

Now virtual operators are the projects anyway initiated by large operators or related it the companies; the atmosphere in this market noncompetitive, considers Rutenberg. A task of FAS and government – to change this situation and to increase MVNO number in Russia, he concludes.

It is difficult for virtual operators to develop in Russia: penetration of mobile communication is already high, in the market high concentration, but thus is not present the dominating operator, and price level and ARPU low (the average price of the proceeding minute – 0,025 dollars, full ARPU – 10 dollars), follow from conclusions of the research prepared by Ernst & Young for a meeting of the commission. Development of MVNO will be helped by decrease in administrative barriers, including restrictions of a resource of numbering, the requirement for accession to a communication network of the virtual operator.

The partner of EY in the CIS Yury Gedgafov confirmed that the company prepared the analysis of the MVNO market, – research was independent, he specifies. Now the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications is demanded from the virtual operator by existence of the switchboard, but for many companies it is a very heavy barrier, Gedgafov explains. To improve a situation, the regulator has to change requirements to virtual networks. Gedgafov gives an example of other countries where it is possible to buy "the box decision" and to start own MVNO, at all without having a network or billing.

And here compulsory opening by operators of the networks for MVNO does not lead to development of virtual operators: in the countries where the state obliged operators to do it, MVNO on average occupies about 6,5% of the market, and in the countries with unregulated access – 6,4%, is told in the report of EY. Such measures of regulation are senseless, Gedgafov considers. To regulate the cost of a traffic and the rule of interaction of operators with MVNO it will be heaviest, he explains. Especially as in the slowing-down market communications operators look for new channels of sales and to them and so will favourably work with MVNO. A duty to connect MVNO can make sense only at distribution of limited resources, for example when tendering on new frequencies 4G, Gedgafov concludes.

The niche projects calculated on special audience than simple sale of a wholesale traffic are more interesting to operators, the representative of MTS Dmitry Solodovnikov speaks. For example, MTS started the so-called easy virtual operator with "Coherent" which for March, 2014 had already 320 000 subscribers. And recently there was a joint project with MTT calculated on subscribers from Central Asia, – operators divide among themselves proceeds from subscribers. At last, MTS prepares start of the virtual operator together with affiliated MGTS – convergent tariffs will be offered her clients, he speaks.

The prices of communication in Russia in general are lower, than in Europe that narrows possibility of emergence of commercially favorable projects of virtual operators, the representative of "Vympelcom" Anna Aybasheva speaks. The Russian operators carry out functions which in Europe assume MVNO: for example, actively are engaged in niche offers, she speaks. The question MVNO is tied and on a frequency resource, after all unlike Europe capacities of the Russian operators are almost completely involved, Aybasheva notices. Thus the traffic grows and the available frequency resource in the long term can not suffice for creation of sufficient capacity to serve this traffic, she warns.

The head of "MegaFon" on communications with state agencies Dmitry Petrov says that the company in general agrees with EY conclusions. The operator considers that for development of MVNO enough market mechanisms and the existing regulation, but it is possible to simplify pointwise requirements for virtual operators. According to him, "MegaFon" now realizes the similar project with affiliated "Skartel", but not against to let someone else if conditions are mutually advantageous on the network.

Dvorkovich's representative Aaliyah Samigullina did not confirm and did not disprove information on a meeting of the commission on communication and did not begin to make comments on its agenda. The representative of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications refused comments.