Ukrtelecom applies to Radio and Television Council to get IPTV license for fourth time
Kyiv, August 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) - PJSC Ukrtelecom has for the fourth time submitted an application to the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council for a license as an IPTV service provider, Company Board Chairman Heorhiy Dzekon said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.
"On July 25 we for the fourth time applied to the national council for an IPTV license," he said.
The national council has several times refused to issue the license to the operator, referring, in particular, to the flaws in the legislation that did not foresee charging license fees for licensees who wish to provide services on this technology.
However, appropriate changes were made to the legislation in 2010, and a corresponding method of charging license fees was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers earlier this year.
Dzekon said that despite the national council's decision, the company could redirect its interest from IPTV to other platforms (like Google TV, Crystal TV), which do not require licenses.
"For this it is necessary to upgrade the network to become a content provider," said Dzekon.
Ukrtelecom expects that the introduction of interactive television services will help the company to bolster ARPU (average revenue per user) on the market of broadband Internet access, which has continued to fall, partly because of the entry of Kyivstar to the market.