Moscow Region providers dispute the increase in prices for placing cables for power lines
The telecommunication operators near Moscow are submitted to the Rosseti due to a change in the procedure for paying for the placement of fiber-fiber cables on the supports of power transmission, since the costs of providers after that increased three times. Lawyers indicate that the courts often take the side of the telecom operators, although Rosseti justify their position by an increase in operating costs, which are associated with additional loads on the supports.
In the suburbs, more than 20 telecom operators filed claims against regional “Rossetti” due to the fact that the company changed the procedure for paying for fuel-off cables on power lines, follows from the cards of cases that Kommersant familiarized with. Most of the controversy lasts since last year. On one support of the power line, several cables of communication operators can be placed, and if earlier the operators were calculated for one support, then from the beginning of 2024, Rosseti near Moscow began to notify the companies about calculation changes. From one of the court decisions it follows that before the beginning of last year, the cost of placement was 81–103 rubles. For one support, while from January 1 it amounted to 97-124 rubles. For each wire placed on the support.
Due to the actions of the Rossetei, operators increased to three times, since the operator places on average three units of equipment, says Dmitry Galushko, head of the Association of Small Regional Communications (more than 140 members). “A similar situation has developed in the Volga region and in the Urals. Operators from all these regions turned to the unreasonable charging fee in the FAS. The application was accepted for consideration, the FAS is now conducting an audit of the Rossetei actions in these regions, ”he adds.
The press service of the Rossetei “Kommersant” reported that the tariff calculation methodology is agreed with the FAS and “tariffing is subject to access to the power transmission line for each (separate) line of power supply”. The company added that they do not “have tasks” change the tariff unit, but “to minimize the risks and ensure the principle of equal conditions for access to the infrastructure, it may be necessary to make changes to exclude attempts by unscrupulous communication operators to manipulate the concept of“ access point ”.” In Vimpelkom, Megafon, MTS, Er-Telecom refused to comment. Rostelecom did not answer Kommersant.
The mincifers are aware of the current situation, Kommersant was told in the press service of the ministry. “We have already contacted the FAS Russia to clarify the methodology for calculating the cost of placing electric networks on the suspensions. We are also in the dialogue on this issue with the Ministry of Energy, ”they added there.
Placement on supports is one of the key methods for building networks, since usually it is 3-10 times cheaper than an underground laying and much faster in implementation, explains an independent telecom analyst Alexei Skyukin. He adds that an increase in the cost of placement of equipment on power lines can lead to both tariff growth for subscribers and adjusting the development plans for large operators. “To a greater extent, operators whose business model and geography of the coating are more critically depended on using the power transmission infrastructure, especially small companies operating on the periphery of large cities and in rural areas,” he adds.
In most such disputes, the courts are sided with the telecom operators, says Zhanna Kolesnikov, head of the commercial practice of the Pleshakov, Ushkalov and Partners Law. The courts take into account the fact that the price for one wire on the support does not correspond to its own methodology for calculating tariffs for using the Rossete infrastructure objects, she explains. “The Rossete tariff itself is set for one support, and therefore it is economically unreasonable to set the price in the contract for each on the support,” she says.
Nevertheless, justifying the payment for each cable, and not the support as a whole, Rosseti indicates an increase in operating costs related to additional loads on supports, a decrease in power transmission lines and the need for additional maintenance and repair measures, adds the corporate practice of the Mitra National Legal Law Company Alina Akhmetova.
