Russian regulator Samara OFAS established that the company unreasonably restricted traffic transfer from networks of AIST CJSC to the local telephony network of Rostelecom in December 2014 - June 2016.
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Such actions restricted competition on the market of communications services within the boundaries of Samara numbering area and infringed legitimate interests of AIST, Megaphone, SMARTS-Samara, MTT OJSC, MTS OJSC, as well as infringed or could have infringed legitimate interest of subscribers at large of these operators.
Earlier AIST CJSC and VolgaTelecom OJSC (and VolgaTelecom OJSC merged with Rostelecom OJSC in June 2006) signed a contract for connecting telecommunications networks.
Under the contract VolgaTelecom OJSC was obligated to render connection and traffic transfer services to AIST CJSC, and AIST CJSC undertook an obligation to pay for them.
In its letter of 2014, Rostelecom OJSC informed AIST CJSC that from 10 December of 2014 the Samara branch of Rostelecom OJSC did not guarantee transfer of traffic not provided for by the contract terms and conditions, namely: not meeting the technical parameters of connection points.
In February AIST submitted copies of their subscribers’ complaints that they were unable to make phone calls to the subscribers of Rostelecom OJSC in Tolyatti and Samara.
The company also submitted copies of coplaints of communications providers - MTT OJSC, MTS OJSC, Megaphone OJSC, SMARTSa OJSC, that were connected to the network of AIST CJSC, on the absence of possibility of traffic transfer via a node of AIST CJSC to the network of Rostelecom OJSC.
A press-release published by OFAS points out that under the Rules for connecting telecommunications networks and their interaction, to ensure non-discriminatory access to the communications market an operator that has a significant position in a public network, in similar circumstances must establish equal conditions for telecommunications network connection and traffic transfer for providers rendering similar services.
As well as provide information and render connection services and traffic transfer services to those providers under the same conditions and of the same quality that for their structural units and (or) affiliated persons.
Investigating the case, OFAS established that Rostelecom restricted traffic transfer from the communications network of AIST to the local telephony network of Rostelecom.
As a result, Samara OFAS found that Rostelecom committed an administrative violation, liability for which is specified in 2 Article 14.31 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations and imposed an administrative fine upon the company – 1,007,253 RUB ($16,980). ■