Mobile operators may have problems renewing their 3G licenses

The operators of the "big three" may have problems with the extension of the federal license for the 3G-range, according to RBC. The reason for this is the annexation of the Crimea.

The problem for telecom operators is that according to the conditions for issuing licenses, which was made back in 2007, telecom operators must provide their services throughout the Russian Federation. After the annexation of the Crimea to the Russian Federation in 2014, companies doing business in the territory of the peninsula came under sanctions. It is for this reason that the Big Three operators are still not present on the communications market in Crimea.
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In order to work out ways to resolve the legal incident that has arisen, as well as to help operators, including strategic companies, to avoid sanctions from western states, a meeting on this issue will be held at Roskomnadzor. In addition to the ILV, representatives of MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom will take part in it.

Until January 1, 2017, a provision approved by government decree No. 1336 was valid regarding the specifics of the application of Russian legislation in the field of communication services in the Crimea. According to the text of the document, all licenses, permits and numbering issued for the Russian Federation on the peninsula are invalid. At the same time, the expiration of the document does not mean the presence of operators in the Crimea.

“If a federal license was obtained before the annexation of the Crimea, then in licensing conditions, the territory of Crimea was not and could not be designated, which means that its owner is not obliged to provide services there,” explained Natalia Kovalenko, head of the telecommunications and media groups of the Pepeliaev Group law firm. .

In the future, the "big three" will have to abandon federal licenses. Instead, they will receive permits concerning certain districts and subjects of the Federation. They will do this to exclude Crimea and Sevastopol from their service areas.

MTS and VimpelCom are traded on the American stock exchanges NYSE and NASDAQ, and MegaFon is traded on the London Stock Exchange. If operators begin to conduct their business in the Crimea, then they may have problems with placing on them because of the sanctions. In addition, work on the peninsula threatens to disrupt contracts with equipment suppliers and the inability to obtain foreign loans.

At the same time, telecom operators are planning to allow servicing customers in the Crimea from switches in the Krasnodar Territory. The corresponding order is being prepared in the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media.

Sim card operators can already be purchased on the peninsula through private companies. At the same time, formally, they are now roaming. In fact, subscribers of the peninsula are invited to consider Krasnodar.