Kyivstar is losing its base stations in Crimea due to the Russian currency

Photo: Eugeny Musienko

Kyivstar mobile phone operator announced that its services on the territory of Crimea are deteriorating due to the shutting down of several of its base stations.

Crimea without hryvnia

“The main reasons for the shutdown of equipment is the inability to pay rent for the territory and the premises on which the equipment of Kyivstar is located, as well as the supply of electricity services in the Ukrainian currency,” Kyivstar Director of Corporate Communications Mykhailo Shuranov informed.

He said only a few base stations are operating on the territory of Crimea, though the number of such stations is gradually on the rise. “Thanks to neighboring base stations the company is managing to support mobile coverage on practically the entire territory of Crimea. Nevertheless, the situation is getting worse. It is most evident in the sphere of communications, but will also have a negative impact on wired Internet services,” Shuranov noted.

The situation is complicated due to the currency issue for Astelit (life:). “We are constantly facing a number of problems that complicate the rendering of services. First and foremost, this is an issue of payment for the leasing of sites, servicing equipment and electricity,” said Astelit PR Manager Oksana Bondarchuk.

The operator now has to ensure itself. As of June 19 life:) will not render services on credit terms. “Such a decision was made based on the company’s risk management policy and standards. The changes apply only to crediting of subscribers, in particular the rendering of life:) services,” Bondarchuk said.

In other words, the company simply limited the possibility of subscribers to fall into debt. “It will be tough for the company to return this money as Ukrainian banks are not operating in Crimea,” an expert told Capital.

MTS-Ukraine also said that while there are difficulties in determining payment operations in Crimea, the company found a solution to the problem. “We are reorienting our work with those companies that will accept payments in the national currency of Ukraine. These are companies that have their headquarters and representative offices on the mainland of Ukraine,” said MTS-Ukraine Press Secretary Viktoria Pavlovska.

No possibilities

As Shuranov said, Kyivstar is doing everything possible to ensure the communication in Crimea remains in modus operandi and corresponds to licensed conditions. However, he pointed out that at the given moment the regulatory operator has been given certain instructions.

At the same time, member of the National Radio Communications and Information Commission (NRCIC) Volodymyr Oliynyk told Capital that it is not worth waiting for any directives. “The problem with currency is not only affecting mobile communications operators, but other spheres as well. The NRCIC cannot resolve this issue as we act pursuant to the law on occupied territories,” Oliynyk summarized. “If operators allow receiving payment in Russian rubles, this will inherently mean Ukraine’s acknowledgement of the annexation of Crimea on the part of Russia,” said a partner of the legal association Yuskutum Artem Afian.

As a reminder, earlier Minister of Information of Crimea Dmitry Polonskiy stated that Ukrainian mobile communications operators can continue to work on the territory of Crimea after the transition period, though only according to Russian law. He said this period will end on January 1, 2015.