The Internet Association of Ukraine and the Association of Internet Market Participants have issued a statement against the actions of "Ukrtelecom" in response to Ukrtelecom's recent price reduction for data transmission and Internet services, reports a "proIT" correspondent.
In their statement, the associations draw attention to the fact that OJSC "Ukrtelecom" has set dumping tariffs for data transmission and Internet services using aDSL technology for end subscribers, while leaving tariff plans for providers unchanged, thereby continuing a policy of destroying commercial operators and Internet providers.
Such actions, in the opinion of Internet market participants, lead to the "crowding out" from the market of those providers who already provide services to end users, and to the destruction of the entire Internet services market.
"The crowding out from the Internet market of practically all providers and operators will lead to another outflow of highly qualified specialists from the country, a drop in budget revenues in the form of taxes, and rising unemployment," the statement says.
The associations call Ukrtelecom's policy "openly discriminatory" and its actions "voluntaristic, not supported by any verified economic calculations." In the opinion of the Internet community, the company's refusal to receive significant revenues from servicing providers may lead to a significant loss of revenues for Ukrtelecom, and consequently, of budget receipts.
The statement emphasizes that such actions not only undermine the investment attractiveness of the industry, but also once again raise the issue of Ukrtelecom's "care for the consumer," which already withstands no criticism, but also lead to the complete and inevitable establishment of control over the Internet.
"The monopolization of the market for providing services to end users will inevitably lead to the establishment of full control over the use of the Internet — the main independent information resource in Ukraine," the statement says.