Ukraine's Rada backs bill on common roaming zone with EU in second reading

MOSCOW. May 22 (Interfax) - A bill on a common roaming zone (Roam-Like-At-Home/RLAH) with the European Union implementing the norms of European roaming legislation was passed by Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada in the second reading, Ukrainian media outlets cited MP Alexei Goncharenko as saying in a social media post.

"From now on, Ukrainians travelling in EU countries will be able to use national mobile tariffs and will not have to pay additional roaming charges," Goncharenko said.

As reported, the bill on the common roaming zone with the EU (RLAH) will allow Ukrainians to use domestic mobile tariffs in EU states and not to pay additional charges for roaming. EU citizens, for their part, will have the same rights while visiting Ukraine.

The document is intended to help implement EU legislative acts in electronic communication and the radio-frequency spectrum. It also adds new terms to Ukraine's electronic communication law such as a roaming zone guest network, an home services provider and a home network of a roaming zone, a home retail price, direct wholesale roaming access and wholesale roaming resale access, regulated roaming service user, roaming in the roaming zone, etc. The EU-Ukraine common roaming zone definition will also be introduced.

Under the draft legislation, the regulator will be authorized to set single maximum termination rates for mobile and landline voice traffic coming from EU and Ukrainian numbers operating in the EU roaming zone. The regulator will have to set these rates in accordance with the rates adopted in the EU.

Kyivstar President Alexander Komarov told Ukrainian media that Ukraine's largest mobile operator is ready to introduce the RLAH and to technologically join the common roaming zone, but Ukraine's telecom sector could lose around $100 million in annual forex revenue due to changes in incoming international interconnect rates.

"The thing is that the RLAH regulates not only roaming rates, but also incoming international interconnect rates between all parties to the agreement. For the Ukrainian telecom sector, this could mean a loss of around $100 million a year, or minus $100 in annual forex revenue for Ukraine. That is why, I fully support the transition to RLAH, but it needs to be introduced correctly and in a way as balanced as possible," Komarov said.

The existing memorandum with European telecom companies guarantees Ukrainians' access to roaming services, he said.

The launch of the common roaming zone will impact international traffic transit and termination, resulting in a decline in profits, JSC Ukrtelecom CEO Yury Kurmaz said.