The Russian authorities have prepared a package of administrative support measures for cellular companies operating in the liberated territories: in the LPR, DPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. This was told to Izvestia by a high-ranking federal official.

According to him, we are talking about simplifying procedures related to the commissioning of mobile networks. The Ministry of Digital Development confirmed that such measures have been prepared.

In particular, the terms for obtaining permits for the use of a base station, which in most regions of the Russian Federation are about 180 days, in the territories that became part of it last year, can be reduced to 120 days, the Izvestia source said. On average in Russia, it costs about 100 thousand rubles, but operators in the DPR, LPR and other new regions will be able to receive it for free, he assures.

The numbering capacity in the Russian code +7 will also be free: now operators pay 50 rubles for allocating a number. At the same time, companies in the new territories will be able to use non-certified equipment and start working even before the supervisory authorities issue all permits for its operation, a high-ranking source claims.

Such a simplification of licensing practices is unprecedented, an expert familiar with the managers of several cellular companies and officials of federal departments. According to him, the measures will allow operators in the liberated territories to actually put networks into operation on a notification basis. Now it is impossible to turn on the base station without a long and expensive procedure for coordination with Roskomnadzor and other government agencies.

Russian cellular operators are skeptical about working in new territories because of possible sanctions risks and transaction costs: it is impossible to guarantee the stable operation of networks and the safety of equipment in combat conditions, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. In his opinion, preferences for operators of the LPR, DPR, Kherson region and Zaporozhye are a reserve for the future. The companies that work there now will obviously have to restore and expand the infrastructure, but already in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. According to him, with the new rules, mobile communications in the liberated territories will be restored faster.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Communication justifies the means: mobile operators of the DNR and LNR will receive benefits