Internet in Ukraine may become more expensive – what is the reason?

Main points

• The telecom regulator NKEK has developed a draft law on a regulatory fee of up to 1.5% of telecom operators' revenue, which could increase mobile Internet tariffs.
• The Internet Association of Ukraine criticizes the draft law for selective use of European norms and possible burden on subscribers due to increased tariffs.

Internet in Ukraine may become more expensive / Photo Shutterstock

The telecom regulator NKEK has developed a draft law. It provides for the introduction of a regulatory fee of up to 1.5% of the total revenue of telecom operators.

Why might Internet prices change in Ukraine?

This is the second attempt by NKEK to shift the costs of its financing to business, as announced by the Internet Association of Ukraine.

As stated in the statement, the analysis of the draft law indicates the selective use of the norms of the European Union Directives by the drafters. The regulator refers to the strictest European practices, but does not take into account the realities of Ukraine, which is in a state of full-scale war.

Therefore, it puts narrow corporate interests above the interests of the state, consumers, and the telecom business. However, it does not take into account a number of EU requirements that do not fit into the approaches of the National Energy Commission.

Do you want to read timely and high-quality news every day? Add 24 Channel to your Google favorites. Add

Instead of promoting the unique experience of the sustainability of Ukrainian networks on international platforms, the “Eurointegrators” from NKEK are trying to impose the most odious and outdated bureaucratic mechanisms on the market,
– they emphasized in the post.

The InAU cited facts that the Regulator ignores:

• “inflated staff”: the plans of the National Committee for Economic and Social Development do not indicate the optimization of the structure, which in terms of size many times exceeds its counterparts in the EU countries;
• the costs are unjustified: Ukraine is the only one among the nine candidate countries that has been voluntarily paying contributions to the BEREC European Bureau from its own funds since 2024, even despite hostilities;
• aggressive fiscal model: the regulatory fee is an order of magnitude higher than similar contributions to the National Commission for the Regulation of Energy and Utilities, and the complete rejection of budget financing does not have a proper economic justification;
• lack of proposals for real support for operators, the abolition of excessive regulations, and combating anti-competitive practices.

No less important factor. According to the text, the NCEC deliberately ignores the “inconvenient” direct requirements of the European Code (ECEC):

1. there is no prohibition on using the fee for capital investments, which, according to EU standards, are not administrative costs;
2. The telecom market money is planned to be directed to the regulation of another industry – the postal sector;
3. lack of guarantees of professional qualifications and the need for specialized education of the Regulator's management;
4. lack of accountability.

Important! The project effectively removes the Parliament, the Government, and society from overseeing the appropriateness of the use of public funds.

What else is worth knowing about the situation?

InAU sent an appeal to the National Commission for the Promotion of Economic and Social Development. The appeal can be seen on the official website.

The association hopes that the market's position will be heard at the stage of public discussion in the National Energy Commission,
– emphasized in the text.

If the comments are ignored, the Association will appeal to state and European institutions.

How will the events affect Ukrainians?

According to information, the introduction of fees for the electronic communications sector will have a burden not only on suppliers, but also on subscribers. The fact is that the costs will be transferred to tariffs.

Pay attention! This will cause tariffs to increase in Ukraine.

MIND media, in particular, investigated whether optimization of functions and reduction of personnel were possible. But, as the article says, this causes “turbulent emotions” in NKEC.

The European Commission has repeatedly stressed that we do not have enough people. Once the staff number was 375, now we have 220 people left. Despite the fact that the law “On Electronic Communications” has added 245% more functions to us,
– said NKEC member Liliya Malyon.

She added that these 220 people are constantly working to exhaustion to ensure that the institution does not collapse.

What is the news about mobile tariffs?

Vodafone CEO Olga Ustinova previously said that the cost of mobile communications in Ukraine is justified. She explained that the expensive tariffs of 400 hryvnias per month are “the price of three or four cups of coffee in Kyiv.” And for this price, people receive a lot of services for an entire month.

At the same time, Kyivstar explained that no one is immune from external factors. Namely, they affect the price increase. At the same time, as of now, the company does not plan to change the cost of mobile tariffs.

In particular, Ukrainians are offered cheap tariffs. Every mobile operator has them. For example, the operator Lifecell offers the cheapest tariff “Lifeset S”. Its cost is only 100 hryvnias per month.