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Roadside liaison
The State Duma Committee on Information Technology has approved in the first reading a bill allowing the construction of communication lines within the boundaries of the right-of-way of a highway. Currently, telecom operators are often denied permission to place equipment, which slows down network deployment and increases the number of traffic accidents due to the lack of infrastructure. Operators support the bill, but say improvements are needed. Another major problem is the lack of electrical communication on 80% of routes that are not yet covered by cellular communications.
The State Duma Committee on Information Policy recommended at its meeting on October 15 to adopt in the first reading a bill simplifying the placement of communication facilities along roads. The description of the bill states that differences in the federal law will allow road owners to refuse operators the placement of communication lines and facilities. The bill also proposes compensating operators for the costs of moving or reconstructing communication lines and facilities "in connection with the construction, expansion or repair of roads and bridges," the explanatory note says.
The Ministry of Digital Development told Kommersant that the bill is intended to solve the problem of placing communication facilities along highways. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport added: "Placing base stations directly on the right-of-way will improve the quality of communication, reduce operator costs and reduce the time for constructing communication infrastructure." The Ministry of Transport did not respond to Kommersant.
The bill on amendments to the Federal Laws "On Communications" and "Motorways and Road Activities" was introduced to the State Duma by a group of senators (Andrei Klishas, Andrei Shevchenko, etc.) and deputies (Alexander Khinshtein, Evgeny Moskvichev, etc.) on May 29. It stipulates that land "within the boundaries of the right-of-way of a motorway" may be used for the placement and operation of telecommunications facilities. The current Federal Law "On Highways" stipulates that the width of roadside strips may vary from 25 to 100 meters, depending on the slope of the road.
Anton Shaparin, vice-president of the National Automobile Union, recalls: "Currently, there is no connectivity on public roads, except for densely populated areas. This affects traffic safety and accidents; for example, without communication, the ERA-GLONASS emergency call system is useless. Rosavtodor did not comment on this initiative.
MTS supports the bill, but says finishing touches are needed, including eliminating inconsistencies in the concept and allowing the placement of an antenna mast structure (AMS) in the right-of-way and on the side of the road.
“Telecommunication coverage of highway sections faces two main obstacles: connection to the power grid and denial of access for deployment of automated workplaces on the right-of-way of the highway,” the MTS press service added.
MegaFon adds: "Placement of antenna-mast structures in the right-of-way is not permitted, so construction near the highway is currently impossible." The distance from the highway to the base station negatively affects the quality of communication and reduces the size of the service area. The company also reported that 80% of highway sections that currently have no cellular coverage are not connected to the power grid.
"Communication operators often rely on road owners due to contradictions in various federal laws and the lack of uniform conditions for laying facilities and communication lines," says Tatyana Tolmacheva, partner at iKS-Consulting. Organizing communications along federal highways is "a burden for communication operators," so laws are needed that will protect them from costs, says Alexey Boyko, an independent analyst and author of a specialized Telegram channel about communications out loud62. At the same time, the costs of road companies will inevitably increase. According to him, it is impossible to build modern roads with high-quality communication coverage without spending money on communication infrastructure.