In its second reading, the Rada passed revised draft law No. 9549, which simplifies the process for mobile operators to lease land plots for building base stations. According to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, this will speed up the deployment of 4G coverage.
One of the key goals of the ministry by 2030 is to provide 98% of citizens with quality mobile connectivity.
“To achieve this, the process for operators to obtain land for network construction needs to be accelerated. Right now, it’s being slowed down by complex bureaucratic procedures, but this bill will change that”, the ministry stated.
The bill will allow mobile operators to:
- Reduce the average time to allocate municipal and state land plots from 6 to 3 months;
- Use limited rights to access others’ land for building mobile towers (land servitude);
- Install temporary technical structures and communications facilities - currently, the absence of a placement procedure puts them at risk of being dismantled.
The ministry says these changes will:
- Provide residents of remote rural areas with mobile internet access and therefore access to e-government services;
- Expand 4G coverage along major roads;
- Accelerate the restoration of connectivity in de-occupied territories, as operators will obtain land more quickly and be able to install temporary infrastructure without dismantling risks.
To prevent corruption, the bill stipulates that only operators listed in the electronic communications networks and/or services registry (maintained by the NCEC) can benefit from the simplified procedures.