Due to a business conflict, people are left without the Internet in the Urals

Alexander Dybin

Residents of the Chelyabinsk region have become hostages of the conflict between the owners of electricity networks and Internet providers. Power engineers regularly cut communication wires from their poles, through which residents gain access to the Internet and cable television. Networkers from IDGC of Urals (part of Russian Grids) claim that the cables are "ownerless" and do not pay rent. The Internet provider Intersvyaz, whose networks are regularly destroyed, say that they have long agreed on a list of addresses where other people's poles are used, and have been paying rent regularly for about a year.

“What is happening is not dismantling, but damage to cables”, - says Ruslan Usmanov, General Director of Intersvyaz Firm LLC, “they are cut into several parts, after which the cable simply cannot be restored. To return people access to the Internet, you need to build a new one. On November 23, employees of IDGC of Urals once again destroyed communication lines in Zlatoust, Kus and Upper Ufaley. The first such case was recorded at the end of September in Chelyabinsk. As a result, hundreds of residents were left without the Internet and TV. We know that similar work is planned today”.

According to Ruslan Usmanov, signalmen and networkers have already completed an inventory of the poles that are used to lay the optical line. This is more than 30 thousand supports, for which the provider pays more than 2 million rubles a month for rent. But, despite this, wires are cut at addresses that are already recognized by both parties.

“We are ready to further clarify the list of supports that we use,” says the head of the company, “in order to start this process, we asked the networkers for title documents for real estate objects that are the subject of the contract. But so far they have not received them, instead of an answer, illegal dismantling began. We are ready for dialogue and urge our colleagues to return to the legal field”.

The Intersvyaz company notes that cutting wires is prohibited for at least two legal reasons. First, the communications law prohibits the destruction of infrastructure. Networks can be dismantled only by a court decision. Secondly, it contradicts the basic readiness regime introduced in the region against the backdrop of the NWO.

At the same time, other operators may also fall under the scissors of networkers, who are also currently having difficult negotiations with IDGC of Urals.

“The incomprehensible position of IDGCs, which first requires an inventory, signs documents, and then it turns out that the documents are not correct, and they themselves delay the work on clarification”, - says Vasily Polyakov, technical director of Hyperset. - We have been trying to resolve the issue since September, we have already signed documents four times. Once again, they were proven wrong. We cannot conduct an inventory in Chelyabinsk: either the employee is on vacation, or on sick leave, or he was fired”.

The company IDGC of Urals told Novye Izvestia that they are dismantling only ownerless networks that they consider to be “subscriber”, that is, belonging to customers, end users of Internet services:

“The legislation provides, firstly, for the obligatory presence of a reimbursable contract with the owner of power transmission towers, and secondly, participation in the contractual relations of a special entity - a communications organization,” IDGC reported, “if the owner of the communication line is not identified, the grid company considers the property to be vacant. Ownerless lines in the absence of proper maintenance can cause damage to power lines, in connection with which Rosseti Ural reserves the right to self-defense".

However, providers say that they simply cannot agree with networkers on a synchronous exit to the facility in order to determine where whose wires are.

“The Interregional Distribution Grid Company of the Urals sent a 79-page dismantling schedule to all telecom operators, where all the settlements of the region are located, and one date is indicated - November 21”, - Ruslan Usmanov, General Director of Firma Intersvyaz LLC, said, “how to be physically present during these works ? If the Interregional Distribution Grid Company's of the Urals really want to identify ownerless networks and dismantle them from supports, then they need to set a date and place, invite all operators to indicate their cable, they are marked, draw up an act, then payment for the use of the support is made. And now they just take it and cut it off”.

There is another nuance to the conflict. Providers are trying to challenge the size of the fee for renting poles. As it turned out, networkers charge them for keeping the cable intact, in particular, they must repair it in case of damage. But in fact, this is never done, moreover, the lease agreement states that the entire responsibility for the integrity of the communication cable lies with the provider.

“The cost of services for placing communication lines on poles consists of two components, we have repeatedly tried to get a calculation method, but we were refused, saying that this is a commercial secret,” Usmanov said. - Nevertheless, we managed to get the methodology officially from one of the municipalities. Revealed a lot of interesting. The costs of Rosseti consist of two parts: the first is the cost of maintaining the supports. We agree with these costs. And the second part is the cost of ensuring the integrity of communication lines of third-party operators. In our many years of practice, we do not know of a single case of any electric grid company restoring a cable at its own expense. Moreover, the contract states that the operator is obliged to maintain the network in working condition at his own expense. And this is 62% of the rental price. What do you pay for then? The Interregional Distribution Grid Company of the Urals does not actually perform this work, nor under the contract, and we believe that these costs are included in the price unreasonably”.

Now the provider intends to appeal the tariff to the antimonopoly service and in court.

Several telecom operators in the Chelyabinsk region admitted that they see the possibility of resolving the conflict only with the participation of the region's governor Alexey Teksler.

“As early as November 2, an appeal was sent to the head of the subject with a request to declare a moratorium on the dismantling of communication networks”, - the providers say.

There has been no response to the appeal yet.