Roskomnadzor began to penalize telecom operators for using Google Global Cache

Yesterday it became known that Roskomnadzor was engaged in the implementation of the plan, which had been known since last year. Namely - the agency began to penalize telecom operators for working with Google Global Cache (GGC). The first company that received a punishment from Roskomnadzor was TransTeleCom, JSC, the Siberia macroregion, and the Region of Chita.

It all started at the end of September 2017, when the agency remained displeased with the work of operators using the Google Global Cache system. Usually they are used by providers to increase the speed of access to Google resources. Well, since the systems are uncertified, Roskomnadzor decided to deal with this problem, saying that all this should be regulated by law.

Roskomnadzor conducted its own investigation and sent information on Google Global Cache complexes and its view of the problem to telecom operators across the country. According to authorities, non-certified systems can not be installed. For those companies who still decided on this, it was punished - about 300 thousand rubles.
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“To ensure the integrity, stability of operation and security of the unified telecommunication network of Russia, it is obligatory to confirm compliance with the established requirements of communication facilities used in the public access network,” said Roman Biryukov, Acting Head of the Roskomnadzor Department for Lipetsk Region.

As far as can be understood from the letter of the investigator who conducted the investigation of the incident, the punishment was made on the basis of three different documents:

• A letter of the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media P19-1-200-23657 of 10/04/2017, which is not in Google search. This letter explains the "principle of Google Global Cache". This letter explains the fact that GGC is essentially a “terminal equipment”.
• There is Article 41 126-FZ “On Telecommunications”, where “Confirmation of compliance of communication facilities and communication services” is explained in detail .
• And then it is concluded that GGC is the end user equipment that is subject to mandatory certification.

According to experts from Roskomsvoboda, all this directly contradicts the law itself, which says that there is a list of equipment that is subject to certification. Other systems are not subject to such certification. The list mentioned above can be found at this link . To certify all this is necessary so that GGC somehow does not disable the public network. How this can happen, unfortunately, is not explained in any of the documents.

By themselves, Google Global Cache is needed in order to reduce the load on communication networks. They are set by the corporation itself in the networks of large Internet companies. Servers cache the content that the user requested, for example, it could be a video, a picture or something else. Later, when another user wants to view the same video, he will receive it from the provider's internal network from the Google Global Cache server. As a result, the user gets faster work of his PC, and the company receives a decrease in the volume of cross-border traffic. This reduces the cost of network infrastructure.

“Google Global Cache is essentially a gateway for any content to reach Russian users. Data transfer between Google Global Cache and Google servers is encrypted. Therefore, when installing Google Global Cache inside the blocking system’s circuit, it’s technically impossible to block Google content, ”says Sergey Nikulin, Managing Director of the Ekotelecom Internet Service Provider.

A legal entity TTK, guilty of installing such equipment, was fined 60 thousand rubles. According to the same Roskomsvoboda, new fines will be imposed soon, and the problem is not only with GGC. The fact is that user devices may require identification — yes, all of these sensors, sensors, smart TVs, smartphones, and more.

It is not yet clear whether TTK will challenge the fine in court or not. But it is already clear that we can expect a large number of such cases in the near future.