Ukrainian President signs Law on Electronic Communications

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has signed the Law on Electronic Communications that defines the rules of work in e-communications.

The document provides for the protection of subscribers’ rights, and simplifies licensing procedures for companies. Subscribers will have out-of-court settlement opportunities (between subscribers and operators), and businesses will face fewer bureaucratic obstacles to the introduction of new technologies.

“The Ukrainian telecom market will become more attractive for European investors. Until recently, Ukraine took almost no steps to implement EU telecommunications laws into existing legislation. This law changes the situation: Ukraine is implementing the new EU regulation almost simultaneously with the EU members,” said Ihor Samokhodskyi, IT&Telecom Sector Head at the EU-supported Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO).

According to him, there is still much work to be done for the revision of some bylaws to make this law fully effective.

The law will enter into force on 1 January, 2022. 

The first draft of the new law, based on EU codes, was developed with the support of BRDO experts within aParliamentary working group on Digital Transformation also including representatives of operators, providers, and associations.

The BRDO is funded by the European Union within the framework of the FORBIZ project and the EU4Business Initiative, with the aim of simplifying the process of doing business and providing effective state regulation in key sectors of the economy.

The European Union’s EU4Digital programme supports efforts to achieve a common roaming space among Eastern Partner countries by 2020, to strengthen the independence of National Regulatory Authorities, and to develop coordinated strategies for frequency distribution. 

BRDO Press release