Under the Law on Communications, operators are required to have a license before
starting activity. 36 License fees vary from around EUR 1.5 million for fixed international telephony down to less than EUR 1,500 for network capacity and 10,000 telephone numbers. A 15-year national license for VoIP costs EUR 150,000. 37 The law
specifies that local, intercity, and international telecommunications services, as well
as mobile telephone communications and television and radio broadcasting, must be
licensed. The term of the license (except for IP-telephony) is determined by the NCRC
and cannot be less than five years. 38 With the present government, Internet activity is
not subject to licensing or other forms of regulation. Liberalization of the market has
also led to a rapid increase in the number of ISPs.
The Law on Communications offers the NCRC a variety of tools to ensure competitive neutrality with regard to building communications infrastructure. According to
the current legislation, all telecommunications operators have the right to build telecommunications networks in accordance with a plan that has been approved by the
Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC). Companies must submit their
plans to Ukrtelecom or the local government to receive permission to develop telecom
networks.
Monopolization by Ukrtelecom, lack of strategy for international telecommunications services market development, and the absence of long-distance and international
traffic control mechanisms are major problems for the long-distance and international
communications market. Interconnection is governed by Chapter IX of the 2003 Law
on Communications and the subsequent NCRC Order on Interconnection and Calculation among Operators. Interconnection is very heavily regulated: the cost of calls
from fixed phones to mobile phones is determined by a government decree, and the
redistribution of incomes from such calls is based on agreements between Ukrtelecom
and the mobile operators. This rate is currently UAH 0.6 per minute. These agreements
between Ukrtelecom and mobile operators are signed on a yearly basis. At present,
it is difficult to obtain data on interconnection between telephony operators because all parties have an interest in concealing actual conditions of their agreements. 39
There is also no public information available regarding the existence of complaints
against interconnection regulation. For fixed-to-mobile interconnection, the termination fee is UAH 0.25 per minute. The price of call termination in the mobile-to-fixed
market is decided by commercial agreement between the parties, but the tariff cannot
be more than UAH 0.25. Mobile-to-mobile interconnection is negotiated between the
parties.
The Law on Communications classifies market players in the telecom sectors as
either ‘‘operators’’ or ‘‘providers.’’ Under Article 1 of the law, ‘‘providers’’ do not have
the right to maintain or operate networks, or to provide channels. Operators are divided into mobile operators, landline operators, and landline wireless operators. Mobile
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Ukraine
starting activity. 36 License fees vary from around EUR 1.5 million for fixed international telephony down to less than EUR 1,500 for network capacity and 10,000 telephone numbers. A 15-year national license for VoIP costs EUR 150,000. 37 The law
specifies that local, intercity, and international telecommunications services, as well
as mobile telephone communications and television and radio broadcasting, must be
licensed. The term of the license (except for IP-telephony) is determined by the NCRC
and cannot be less than five years. 38 With the present government, Internet activity is
not subject to licensing or other forms of regulation. Liberalization of the market has
also led to a rapid increase in the number of ISPs.
The Law on Communications offers the NCRC a variety of tools to ensure competitive neutrality with regard to building communications infrastructure. According to
the current legislation, all telecommunications operators have the right to build telecommunications networks in accordance with a plan that has been approved by the
Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC). Companies must submit their
plans to Ukrtelecom or the local government to receive permission to develop telecom
networks.
Monopolization by Ukrtelecom, lack of strategy for international telecommunications services market development, and the absence of long-distance and international
traffic control mechanisms are major problems for the long-distance and international
communications market. Interconnection is governed by Chapter IX of the 2003 Law
on Communications and the subsequent NCRC Order on Interconnection and Calculation among Operators. Interconnection is very heavily regulated: the cost of calls
from fixed phones to mobile phones is determined by a government decree, and the
redistribution of incomes from such calls is based on agreements between Ukrtelecom
and the mobile operators. This rate is currently UAH 0.6 per minute. These agreements
between Ukrtelecom and mobile operators are signed on a yearly basis. At present,
it is difficult to obtain data on interconnection between telephony operators because all parties have an interest in concealing actual conditions of their agreements. 39
There is also no public information available regarding the existence of complaints
against interconnection regulation. For fixed-to-mobile interconnection, the termination fee is UAH 0.25 per minute. The price of call termination in the mobile-to-fixed
market is decided by commercial agreement between the parties, but the tariff cannot
be more than UAH 0.25. Mobile-to-mobile interconnection is negotiated between the
parties.
The Law on Communications classifies market players in the telecom sectors as
either ‘‘operators’’ or ‘‘providers.’’ Under Article 1 of the law, ‘‘providers’’ do not have
the right to maintain or operate networks, or to provide channels. Operators are divided into mobile operators, landline operators, and landline wireless operators. Mobile
254
Ukraine