Lukashenko outlines mobile market strategy :: Charter'97 :: News

The president the president of Belarus has laid out his arguments in favour of state control of the country`s third mobile operator.

Last week, President Aleksander Lukashenko said that the main indicators of successful mobile operator competition are low prices and quality and promised governmental support and favourable conditions for the third Belarusian mobile GSM operator, `Best`, which is intended as a socially focused enterprise.

President Lukashenko hopes that the third operator will reduce mobile prices, and, as a state-owned enterprise, will ensure that mobile services are accessible for poorer Belarusians.

Best is to function under the supervision of the state military-industrial committee. Nikolai Azamatov, the government`s committees chairman, is to take personal control Best management.

President Lukashenko said: “The two other operators, Velcom and MTS, have controlling shares owned by the government. The third is to be entirely state-owned. The government should operate them, carrying out personnel selection, budget monitoring, modernisation, purchases and development. What for? Very simply. First of all they require huge financial sources. Secondly, it is required for the protection of the state. Many states control this sector of the economy.”

The president has also ordered officials to investigate, why, in spite of the control the state has over the MTS and Velcom boards, they have not re-nominated their chairpersons in spite of the president`s requirement that they do so. The president also reminded the three operators that, in accordance with the state programme of domestic producer protection, all the three operators should refuse “any unreasonable equipment purchase` from outside the country.”