Licensing and authorisation

Licences/authorisations required

What licences/authorisations are required to provide telecoms services?

Operators provide telecoms services in Russia under Government Decree 87, dated February 18 2005, on the basis of telecoms licences for the relevant type of service, including, but not limited to:

  • data transmission services (either voice or other data);
  • the provision of connection channels, intercity and international telephone calls;
  • telematics services;
  • telecoms services for terrestrial broadcasting; and
  • telecoms services for cable broadcasting.

Telecoms licences are issued under Federal Law 126-FZ (the Communications Law) in accordance with the licensing requirements under Government Decree 87.

Licences are issued on a per territory basis and operators that provide a variety of services must hold relevant licences for all services and regions in which they provide services, which can sometimes number hundreds of licences.

Procedure

What are the eligibility, documentary and procedural requirements to obtain a licence/authorisation?

Telecoms service licences are issued by the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Connection, Information Technologies and Mass Communications. The applicant files an application together with supporting documentation, including its corporate documents, a description of the telecoms service to be provided and the network layout. Where the services to be provided require the use of spectrum, the applicant must submit a frequency-use permit issued by the State Commission for Radio Frequency Allocation. In cases where the specific frequency resource is limited or there is a limited capacity of publicly available networks in the territory in which the operator applies, licences can be issued via tender (held as auctions or competitive contests).

Validity period and renewal

What is the validity period for licences/authorisations and what are the terms of renewal?

Telecoms licence terms are determined by the authority and must be between three years and 25 years.

Fees

What fees apply?

There is a one-time licence fee of Rb7,500 (approximately $112) for all types of licence. Separate fees are charged for frequency-use and number pool assignments. 

Timeframe

What is the usual timeframe for obtaining a licence/authorisation?

The average waiting period for a licence to be issued is 75 days from the filing of a complete package or, in the case of an auction, 30 days after the winner has been decided.

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