Rostelecom has not submitted 2013 investment program to Telecoms Ministry, will consider next week
MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - The Russian Telecoms Ministry has not yet received information from OJSC Rostelecom about its 2013 investment plans, which need to be approved by the ministry and the government.
"There is no information on the Rostelecom investment program," Telecoms Minister Nikolai Nikiforov told the press. "The company is reluctant to provide information, including plans for 2013 which we have not seen," he said, adding that overall communications between the ministry and Rostelecom management are "normal."
The Rostelecom board of directors will consider the 2013 budget, a mid-term (five-year) and a long-term (10 year)strategy on December 26, the company said Wednesday.
The Telecoms Ministry still reckons the most effective area for development at Rostelecom should be broadband Internet access, an area where the company already has an advantage, Nikiforov said.
However, the minister said, "the government should not interfere in the day-to-day management of the company." Rostelecom and the ministry will discuss development plans.
The Telecoms Ministry is concerned about the efficiency of Rostelecom investment in 3G base stations, considering that construction is being carried out in regions where the market is already occupied by other players. "We think the estimated return on these investments is too high," the minister said.
"We think there are issues concerning the efficiency of network development investment - how effective is the spending on base station construction, on connecting subscribers. We see many examples of fast growing companies where these parameters are much lower," Nikiforov said.
Previously investment plans were compiled exclusively within the company but regulations introduced this year on the need to submit the investment program for approval to the government (with the participation of the Telecoms Ministry) should increase the transparency of the planning process," he said.
The money Rostelecom spent on building 3G base stations - around 70 billion rubles, could have been more efficiently spent, in terms of the country's interests, on developing broadband, the Telecoms Minister reckons.
The minister added that investment planning is a rather complex process and now one decision cannot cancel Rostelecom's 3G network construction. Now it is important to complete these projects on time.
Rostelecom is building 3G networks in 27 regions, most of which already offer GSM services. The 3G network is officially launched by Sky Link, which is wholly owned by Rostelecom, which holds licenses and frequencies for 3G in the 1.9 Ghz-2.1 Ghz range in 69 regions.
Nikiforov told the press that Rostelecom has created debt of around 190 billion rubles.
"There is a problem with where the key drivers of revenue growth are. Rostelecom mainly saw revenue growth points in preferential government stories, for example, universal service: of the 15 billion ruble fund, Rostelecom gets 11 billion rubles, this is investment from all companies. The e-government subject is another r10 billion rubles or so, the web-camera subject is another 13 billion rubles. If these special projects are excluded from Rostelecom revenue, questions on competitiveness and efficiency arise," the minister said.
