. "Moscow region today"
In the near future, the Unified Book of Complaints will appear on the Internet in the Moscow region, and their rating will depend on how the heads of municipalities react to the statements of residents. And on a separate resource it will be possible to complain about the poor quality of communication, and these appeals will also not go unnoticed. Details are in the interview. Maksuta Shadayeva, minister government controlled, information technologies and communications of the Moscow region.
Communication between technology and management
- Maksut Igorevich, please tell us about the main tasks of the ministry you are in charge of. Perhaps, the combination of functions of public administration, information technology and communications is not accidental in our high-tech age?
– The main goal of introducing modern information technologies is to simplify and facilitate access to public services. The use of new technologies is the main factor in optimizing the entire system of public administration and increasing its efficiency.
In addition, our ministry is busy developing the infrastructure of all types of communications in the Moscow region. Telecom operators are often ready to invest heavily in infrastructure development, but cannot do this due to the inertia of local authorities and a large number of administrative barriers. While the development of infrastructure generates competition and, therefore, entails a reduction in prices.
Unfortunately, often in the Moscow region, residents of apartment buildings have a choice of only one operator. In such circumstances, it is not necessary to talk about the flexibility of pricing policy. But such situations can be “embroidered” by creating simplified conditions for operators to access the market.
- Often, residents still prefer stationary, rather than mobile communications with the Internet, considering the latter too expensive. How are things going with the development of this direction?
– This is also due to distortions in the infrastructure. In the Moscow region, when connecting apartment buildings, cable connection still prevails. The capital is already largely covered by a network with data transmission according to the LTE standard. There is a high concentration of the population, a lot of competition and operators put new base stations of just such a standard. To guarantee the LTE standard, the operator's base station must be connected with a fiber optic connection, which is much more difficult and expensive to do in the Moscow region than in the capital. Moreover, "dead zones" remain in the region, where the density base stations insufficient and mobile communication is generally inaccessible to the population. Often this is due to the complex process of obtaining permission to allocate land for the installation of base stations.
There will be an infrastructure operator in the region
- What can really be done to optimize the operator's pricing policy?
- The price falls when the market is saturated with offers and there is a tough competition between operator companies for a subscriber. What kind of competition can we talk about if, say, there is only one operator in the house, and the residents naturally pay more?
The most important initiative in this area is the introduction of a mandatory requirement for the mandatory connection of multi-apartment buildings under construction to at least two independent Internet service providers. The developer simply will not be able to hand over the house without fulfilling this requirement.
Now the regional government is discussing a project to create a large infrastructure operator in the Moscow region. This will be a company that will consolidate the management of the infrastructure for telecom operators' access to end subscribers. It will facilitate access to users due to the fact that it will take over the functions of interaction with municipalities, obtaining permits for the installation of base stations and antenna-mast structures, as well as for laying lines to residential buildings. The task of this infrastructure intermediary is to give telecom operators a single, understandable and transparent tariff for the provision of services. This is where the element of competition for the subscriber will arise.
It is very important that the infrastructure operator will be owned by the government of the Moscow region. It will not independently provide communication services. Rather, it has a social mission - to provide the subscriber with the opportunity to choose from which telecom operator to buy a service.
- Maksut Igorevich, what is the real time frame for creating such an infrastructure intermediary and preparing the entire regulatory framework for its activities?
– We expect this company to start operating at the end of 2014. We have already collected preliminary applications from operators, where they intend to install new base stations, in which settlements, there is interest in connecting houses, and started working with the respective municipalities. In the summer, it is planned to launch a special website where any resident of the Moscow region will be able to leave a review about where the connection does not work well. On the territory, which will be the most complaints, telecom operators will be asked to pay increased attention. The regional government, helping operators with connecting new facilities in desired areas, will ask them to take on social burdens, for example, provide significant discounts for connecting budgetary institutions (schools, hospitals, municipal enterprises).
A radical change in thinking
- One of the important activities of your ministry is to ensure the functioning of "electronic government". In your opinion, at what stage is this process now?
“We are taking the first steps in this direction. The fact is that in the Moscow region there is a high percentage of the older population who do not have the required degree computer literacy. Therefore, we go two ways. For those who have a computer “on you”, we are transferring all communication to the Internet, minimizing face-to-face communication with officials. And for the older generation, an extensive network of multifunctional centers is being created, the staff of which will provide the most comfortable communication with the operator with a minimum waiting time in line.
Now the opening of multifunctional centers is one of the key priorities for us. MFC network in the Moscow region on a par with the introduction in municipalities electronic document management- the most important components of what is called "electronic government". Such centers are a joint project of the regional government and municipalities, and approximately 70% of the work here depends on the desire and responsibility of the local authorities. After all, this is a change in the system of work that has evolved over decades, all the processes of providing services, which is impossible without a restructuring of thinking.
- With the introduction of "electronic document management" will the system change dramatically?
- Certainly! And the thinking of an official, too. After all, there will be fundamentally different terms for consideration of documents. When the local authorities realize the advantages of communication in electronic form, then they begin to rebuild vertical communication in a similar way. And communication with residents is planned to be established both in the on-line system and using traditional forms.
Unified complaint book
- Probably, the number of applications is increasing? How to deal with them?
- The pilot operation of the call center of the government of the Moscow Region is already underway, where any citizen can call and tell about their problem. So far, the call center is working on complaints to the State Housing Inspectorate, since the largest number of complaints is related to the activities of management companies and the state of housing and communal services.
This summer, the launch of the site is scheduled, the preliminary name of which is “The Unified Book of Complaints”. On it, any resident of the Moscow region will be able to complain about absolutely anything, from problems in the improvement of their yard, problems in the entrance, and ending with work municipal institutions and officials. All appeals will be reduced to a single database. The governor made a decision: for all complaints received through the call center and the Unified Complaint Book, clear deadlines for eliminating problems will be set - no more than 3 days.
Now the incoming complaint eventually returns to the same level that they complain about. At the same time, the efficiency of work on the problem is quite low. To avoid this situation, there are two ways. First, the author will be able to make any complaint public on the new portal. Other users will be able to support her by voting for her. The more votes a complaint gets, the higher will be the level at which it will be taken under control. Naturally, a serious mechanism for authorization and protection against fraud will be provided. The second way: a citizen, having received an answer to his complaint, will be able to evaluate this answer, rejecting deliberate "replies". If he is dissatisfied with the answer, then the complaint automatically goes to more high level control. If the problem is promised to be eliminated after a certain period, then the system automatically puts such an obligation under control. The system itself will remind the author of the complaint when he will have to evaluate the final result.
- Is there any rating of municipalities based on the results of the work of the future portal?
- Naturally. And it will be closely linked to the rating of heads of municipalities, which is being developed by the government of the Moscow Region. It will consist of three components: statistical indicators of the socio-economic development of the region, data from a sociological survey and just a rating for handling complaints and eliminating problems, satisfaction of residents with the quality of feedback from the authorities. Public ratings in various areas of activity of local authorities and municipal institutions are a very effective means of motivating officials and debugging the management system. The rating does not allow the official to forget that he is, in fact, a servant of the people. After all, a low place in the ranking is a serious reason for thinking for the official responsible for the relevant area of activity. And feedback from the residents of the Moscow region is the foundation on which all our work stands. On each of the sites that the regional government plans to launch, there will be a section where you can complain about the work of the sites themselves and the availability of information on them. And we will get a direct response from the population.
- Here again the question of ownership of the population of the Internet arises. Why not include complaints about the work of the call center and the Unified Complaints Book in the list of services provided by the MFC?
By the way, that's a good idea! Maybe we will. Through special infomats or through MFC operators, a resident will be able to evaluate the work of our portals. Operators do not have a conflict of interest, moreover, if they are required to accept complaints, they can help to purposefully redirect these complaints. It is also possible that, in addition to the complaints portal, we will work with district public chambers after they are reformatted. A number of problems that these people complain about can be solved through these bodies.
Statistics:
Currently, 37 MFCs of municipalities are open in the Moscow region. By the end of 2015, it is planned to open another 56 MFCs, of which 32 MFCs will open in 2014. Now on the basis of the MFC, the provision of 96 types of state and municipal services is organized, of which: 15 types federal services; 39 - regional services; 42 types of municipal services.
In addition to the obvious cost savings for operators to deploy fifth generation (5G) communication networks, a single infrastructure operator can become an “infrastructure steam locomotive” to resolve regulatory issues and clarify the situation with frequency allocation. Such assumptions are expressed by large vendors. One of the disadvantages they call fewer opportunities for the implementation of equipment. The operators themselves, both European, Japanese, and Russian, see a negative in a single infrastructure operator, which, primarily due to the lack of competition, will affect the quality of fifth generation communication services.
With the introduction of 5G networks, the number of base stations that operators will have to build will increase dramatically. This means both buying these base stations and renting places on rooftops and other facilities to install them. This is partly why the idea of creating a single infrastructure operator began to appear in the world and in Russia so that other telecom operators could save on infrastructure.
Last year, PJSC Rostelecom offered itself as a single infrastructure operator (see ComNews of July 24, 2017). However, the company has gone further and wants to become a single infrastructure operator, including receiving frequencies.
Representatives of telecom operators and large vendors discussed the topic of what the creation of a single infrastructure operator of the fifth generation communication network can lead the industry to. Does the idea of a single 5G infrastructure operator have the right to life in principle and in Russia in particular.
Olga Ramina, Director of the Radio Access Network Department of PJSC Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), drew attention to the world experience in creating a single infrastructure operator. According to her, there are few successful such projects both in the world and in Europe. For example, Ukraine, trying to launch 3G networks according to this scenario, eventually abandoned this idea.
In addition, Olga Ramina believes that the development of the 5G standard will be evolutionary and progressive, and fourth-generation networks have not yet exhausted their capabilities. "On 4G networks, we can launch technologies inherent in 5G. Therefore, it is obvious that launching 5G networks will require fairly deep integration with existing 4G networks, which will be problematic for a single infrastructure operator," explains an MTS representative. In addition, in her opinion, there are risks in the field of deployment and reliability of such a network, not to mention the competitive development of 5G services.
The director of the Belarusian operator Velcom, Christian Lake, said that a single operator in Belarus (a 4G infrastructure operator operates in the country) provides coverage for a little more than 2% of the country's territory and acts very slowly and without motivation. The lack of motivation, according to Christian Lake, is due to the lack of competition in the market. At the same time, the representative of Velcom adheres to the position that it is impossible to completely ban joint infrastructure projects.
Takehiro Nakamura, Vice President, Managing Director of NTT DOCOMO's 5G laboratory, noted that such a scheme (single infrastructure operator) is not common in Japan. Subscribers expect an excellent quality of network performance from the operator, both in terms of data transfer speed and in terms of coverage, which is in line with the competition. Therefore, the industry players do not undertake joint efforts to create a single operator.
However, Takehiro Nakamura found it difficult to predict what will happen with 5G/IMT-2020. "There is a feeling that it will take much more stations in fairly high parts of the spectrum. In general, such cooperation seems reasonable. However, we do not have such plans yet. We are going to build everything ourselves," he said.
Dmitry Konarev, the leading expert of mobile broadband access "Huawei Russia", outlined the pros and cons of the infrastructure operator. He stressed that for Huawei, as a vendor, the disadvantages are more significant. First of all, because of the smaller opportunities for the implementation of equipment. In addition, the quality of the fifth generation network will suffer due to the lack of competition. The advantage is the ability to use an efficient administrative apparatus. Firstly, it will allow much faster resolution of issues when deploying communication networks. Secondly, it is better to build a single network than "different pieces that will repeat each other."
Dmitry Konarev referred to the estimates of leading analysts, according to which up to 40% of fifth generation networks will use the infrastructure operator's infrastructure and be shared between other operators. In his opinion, there is no escape from such a development of events. He expects two scenarios for fifth generation networks.
Anatoly Ilyaich, Vice-President of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region of Ericsson, called it an obvious plus that it is cheaper to build one infrastructure than several. But this story has a number of drawbacks. For example, as discussed above, 5G networks will be built in coordination with 4G networks. "For certain use cases, the integration of carriers with LTE in lower bands will be important and critical. Without this, a number of use cases will not be possible," he said.
General Director of "Nokia Russia" Mikhail Raiskin believes that theoretically the use of the administrative resource by "Rostelecom" will help to get through all the legal and regulatory obstacles. It will also help to better understand what is going on with the frequencies. In fact, to be the so-called infrastructure locomotive. In addition, Mikhail Raiskin considers it quite logical that different operators will implement their strategies, which need to be given a chance.
June 1st. /TASS/. The head of Rostelecom, Mikhail Oseevsky, believes that against the backdrop of the upcoming development of 5G technology and the need to create an appropriate communications infrastructure, all operators should join forces and create a single infrastructure operator. He stated this during the round table "Russia in touch: the country's digital economy in the 5G landscape" organized by Kommersant at the SPIEF-2017.
"It is important for us to come to the conclusion that such an infrastructure should be created together. The topic of creating an infrastructure operator, it seems to me, is very correct, and it is a matter of time before we start discussing possible approaches to creating a common platform," he said. "I think it's a few years horizon," he added.
Tele2 CEO Sergey Emdin agrees with the head of Rostelecom that combining the efforts of operators in the construction of 5G infrastructure will save significant money. According to him, the construction of such networks is the task of operators, and the state can stimulate growth and attract investment in this area, for example, by setting the goal of creating "smart cities".
The need for large-scale investments in communications infrastructure for the development of 5G was also discussed by the CEO of MegaFon Sergei Soldatenkov. The head of MegaFon also noted that it is important to resolve the issue of allocating a range for 5G. According to Soldatenkov, the "700th band" could be allocated for these purposes. To date, the decision to allocate specific bands for 5G has not been made either in Russia or at the global level.
The head of VimpelCom, Shell Johnsen, believes that it makes no sense to build infrastructure separately if you can combine efforts. He noted that it is necessary to discuss this issue with vendors so that they also receive their proceeds in this situation.
The head of MTS Andrey Dubovskov, in turn, noted that for the operator the history of creating a single infrastructure operator is "not obvious." He recalled that at the moment about 30% of infrastructure facilities of the operators are already in mutual lease. “5G technology will require the placement of these base stations in cities every 100 meters,” he said, adding that the operator in this case will have to negotiate separately with each owner of the house and manhole. “Organics is much more productive in this sense,” he stressed, noting that MTS will have enough investments for the development of 5G.
The Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, Nikolay Nikiforov, explained that the development of 5G in Russia is necessary to ensure the operation of the ever-increasing number of “Internet of Things” devices. The technology of the fifth generation of communication can also become the basis for the development of unmanned vehicles in Russia. The minister believes that the state should approach the issue of regulating the telecommunications industry very carefully and take into account the need for large-scale investments by operators in the communications infrastructure.
According to Nikiforov, there is no direct connection between the estimated costs of meeting the requirements of the Yarovaya package and providing 5G infrastructure. The minister noted that the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications is currently working with law enforcement agencies to determine the composition of the requirements of the Yarovaya package.
SPIEF runs from 1 to 3 June. Forum events are united by the motto "In Search of a New Balance in the Global Economy". TASS acts as the general media partner and official photo-host agency of the SPIEF. In addition, the agency is the operator of the presentation zone of the forum.
June 1st. /TASS/. The head of Rostelecom, Mikhail Oseevsky, believes that against the backdrop of the upcoming development of 5G technology and the need to create an appropriate communications infrastructure, all operators should join forces and create a single infrastructure operator. He stated this during the round table "Russia in touch: the country's digital economy in the 5G landscape" organized by Kommersant at the SPIEF-2017.
"It is important for us to come to the conclusion that such an infrastructure should be created together. The topic of creating an infrastructure operator, it seems to me, is very correct, and it is a matter of time before we start discussing possible approaches to creating a common platform," he said. "I think it's a few years horizon," he added.
Tele2 CEO Sergey Emdin agrees with the head of Rostelecom that combining the efforts of operators in the construction of 5G infrastructure will save significant money. According to him, the construction of such networks is the task of operators, and the state can stimulate growth and attract investment in this area, for example, by setting the goal of creating "smart cities".
The need for large-scale investments in communications infrastructure for the development of 5G was also discussed by the CEO of MegaFon Sergei Soldatenkov. The head of MegaFon also noted that it is important to resolve the issue of allocating a range for 5G. According to Soldatenkov, the "700th band" could be allocated for these purposes. To date, the decision to allocate specific bands for 5G has not been made either in Russia or at the global level.
The head of VimpelCom, Shell Johnsen, believes that it makes no sense to build infrastructure separately if you can combine efforts. He noted that it is necessary to discuss this issue with vendors so that they also receive their proceeds in this situation.
The head of MTS Andrey Dubovskov, in turn, noted that for the operator the history of creating a single infrastructure operator is "not obvious." He recalled that at the moment about 30% of infrastructure facilities of the operators are already in mutual lease. “5G technology will require the placement of these base stations in cities every 100 meters,” he said, adding that the operator in this case will have to negotiate separately with each owner of the house and manhole. “Organics is much more productive in this sense,” he stressed, noting that MTS will have enough investments for the development of 5G.
The Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, Nikolay Nikiforov, explained that the development of 5G in Russia is necessary to ensure the operation of the ever-increasing number of “Internet of Things” devices. The technology of the fifth generation of communication can also become the basis for the development of unmanned vehicles in Russia. The minister believes that the state should approach the issue of regulating the telecommunications industry very carefully and take into account the need for large-scale investments by operators in the communications infrastructure.
According to Nikiforov, there is no direct connection between the estimated costs of meeting the requirements of the Yarovaya package and providing 5G infrastructure. The minister noted that the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications is currently working with law enforcement agencies to determine the composition of the requirements of the Yarovaya package.
SPIEF runs from 1 to 3 June. Forum events are united by the motto "In Search of a New Balance in the Global Economy". TASS acts as the general media partner and official photo-host agency of the SPIEF. In addition, the agency is the operator of the presentation zone of the forum.
The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications intends by 2024 to cover all Russian cities with a population of 300,000 or more with a 5G network. At the same time, it is planned to achieve this indicator at the expense of private investments of Russian and foreign investors, said the Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications Nikolay Nikiforov, speaking on the eve of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at a round table dedicated to the development of the fifth generation network.
“We have a directly prescribed indicator that regulates the launch of a 5G network in one form or another in 2024 in all cities with a population of 300,000 or more. This bureaucratic task should not be perceived as an unconditional goal that must be achieved, regardless of cost and other barriers. We, of course, rely on the investments of telecom operators themselves. Previously, communication networks were built mainly through private investment. This trend will continue,” the minister said.
Explaining the feasibility of the goal, he stated that fourth-generation network penetration would soon reach "millions of devices per square kilometer" and none of existing networks, except for 5G, will not be able to cope with the demands of the future.
“In conditions when we will have millions of connected devices per square kilometer - and we will come to this very quickly, when many, many important tasks will be assigned to these devices, including for the life, health and safety of our citizens, not 4, neither 3 nor any other G can handle the load. For example, with unmanned vehicles. And there are many such applications. The number of connected devices will increase geometrically,” the minister explained.
He emphasized that the role of the state in the development of a new generation network should be only in the general regulation of the industry, training personnel "and sometimes in stimulating research and development."
Don't Rush With 5G
In turn, the CEO of the mobile operator Tele2 Sergey Emdin said that on the verge of launching a new generation network, the industry is in difficult conditions and it is not worth rushing to implement it.
“And the dollar exchange rate is not very beneficial for us, and the growth of the industry has practically stopped. In principle, we do not need now to implement 5G headlong. This is a rather difficult task, especially if additional obligations are imposed. Yes, 5G is an interesting story, but in order for it to happen massively in the coming years, we, as an industry and the state, will need to coordinate efforts, ensure profitability,” said the head of the Big Four operator.
He also stressed that one of the most important technical problems for implementation - clearing the frequencies of obsolete types of communication. “If we understand that we need to go down in the spectrum in order to at least reduce the costs of deploying networks, then acceptable frequencies in 700-800 MHz today is largely occupied by other users who do not support promising technologies,” he said. Nikolai Nikiforov promised to assist in resolving this issue.
CEO of Rostelecom Mikhail Oseevsky, in turn, noted that so far there are no established international standards for the 5G network, and users are not ready to pay for a new generation of the network. “Household spending is not growing. Our people are not ready to massively spend money on many of the services that we are discussing today. I do not yet see users who are able to pay for the next generation network, but this does not mean that we should not do it together. Yes, so far there are not even standards approved by the International Telecommunication Union. There are only separate elements, technologies,” said the head of Rostelecom.
Only the “Yarovaya package” is more expensive
Another claim from mobile operators was the cost of the project. So, the CEO of MegaFon Sergey Soldatenkov stated that the operator does not intend to provide carpet coverage of the 5G network, since the telecom operator has more important and costly problems - the “Yarovaya package”.
“You ask how much money is needed for the development of 5G? You know, I'm still busy with calculations related to the Yarovaya law. Because the law will be in a year, and the fifth generation can be postponed. Yes, there are many questions about it, but we understand that this must be done, without a doubt. This is the safety of people,” Soldatenkov said.
He suggested that if mobile operators do not have enough funds to implement the Yarovaya package (according to various expert estimates, the cost of implementing the package of laws will amount to about 4.5 trillion rubles, while the revenue of mobile operators in 2016 amounted to 1.6 trillion rubles). ), then it is necessary to “sew up” a certain “security tax” into the tariff - from 1 to 3%. “If we follow this path, then we will have funds for the development of fifth generation networks. Technically, we will all be ready. And all the ambiguities like problems with frequencies will pass, ”the head of MegaFon explained his position.
However, Nikolai Nikiforov, on the contrary, believes that the "Yarovaya package" should not become a brake on the development of a new generation of networks in Russia. “There is no direct connection. Our task is to balance the goals of the law for which it was adopted, with the impact on the industry. Work is underway, although it is not an easy dialogue. It is being conducted with law enforcement in order to develop a balanced model in terms of timing, scale of implementation, data composition, etc. We have 35 thousand telecom operators, of which these are often small companies in small towns, which are also subject to all legislation and all regulation. We must also think about them,” the Minister of Communications explained.
Infrastructure operator - necessary or not?
With the general high cost of the project to penetrate 5G into small towns, Rostelecom estimates the costs at about 1 trillion rubles - demand for it will be weak in the near future. “I see only one city in the country that may come closer in terms of demand structure to the need for 5G in the future. This, of course, is Moscow. What matters here are average per capita incomes, the willingness of people to spend money on improving the quality of life, the willingness of the municipality to actively invest and create new technologies, including for transport, housing and communal services, and security. But it is very expensive,” said the head of Rostelecom.
He proposed to create a single infrastructure communications operator on the basis of mobile operators. “It is important for us to come to an understanding at some point that such an infrastructure must be created together. And the topic of creating this operator seems to me very correct. I think this will be possible in a few years,” he suggested.
The head of Tele2 Sergey Emdin also agreed with him. In his opinion, the creation of such an operator, a unified infrastructure, will financially relieve the companies a little. “But 5G will be more expensive to implement anyway. Business costs will need to be compensated,” he said.
What is the CEO of MTS Andrey Dubovskov stated that the "state within a state" system was not and would not be effective. “We need to make it cheaper, yes. But it is not necessary to build a state within a state for this. We can negotiate! And then: 5G will require the placement of base stations every 100 meters. What kind of infrastructure operator should we create to hang the station bases on the wall of the house? Who is the infrastructure operator? Rostelecom, which is a monopoly in the regions? - objected the head of MTS.
He recalled that operators can use each other's networks to provide communication to their subscribers without creating any add-on. “Let's abstract about the platforms. Half of the networks were built by us together with Beeline, the other half with Veon. And we also use their networks, we have been cooperating for a long time. It doesn’t matter how many platforms and what it’s called,” summed up Andrey Dubovskov.
5G (from the English fifth generation - the fifth generation) is the fifth generation of the mobile communication network being developed. In experimental networks, the data transfer rate reaches 25 Gbit/s. For comparison: in the fourth generation network, the data transfer rate can reach only up to 1Gbps.
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