en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media (Минцифры) is drafting a federal law to establish the shared use of communication infrastructure in apartment buildings as an industry-wide standard. This draft law is based on nearly nine years of pilot experience in St. Petersburg. The pilot project was launched in 2017 by Inform-Svyaz LLC and the LSR Group, and was described at the time as "an absolutely new product for the industry."
In June 2020, infrastructure operator Inform-Svyaz completed the construction of backbone fiber-optic communication lines in two residential complexes in St. Petersburg: "Colorful City" and "New Okhta." Through a unified infrastructure called the "Inform-Svyaz Open Network" (ОСИС), five operators (Dom.ru, MTS, WiFiRe, a subsidiary of Megafon PJSC, Cactus, and Inform-Svyaz itself) simultaneously provided communication services to residents. The project covered 52 newly built apartment buildings, totaling 12,000 apartments. Developer LSR Group ensured that new home residents could choose services from at least five operators. At the time, Inform-Svyaz General Director Andrey Kulazhenkov called this project "an absolutely new product for the industry" following the principles of the "sharing economy."
After nine years of development, this model tested in St. Petersburg has risen to the federal policy agenda. On June 24, 2026, Izvestia reported that the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media (Минцифры), in collaboration with industry organizations, is developing unified requirements for communication infrastructure upon building handover. The ministry confirmed that apartment buildings must have the technical capability to support the simultaneous operation of multiple internet service providers upon delivery. Based on the work results, amendments are planned to the Communications Law and relevant technical regulations. In Moscow, similar regulations have been in effect for over three years.
Inform-Svyaz General Director Andrey Kulazhenkov told a ComNews correspondent that the project has achieved significant development and scaling. He stated that its network currently covers over 140 large apartment buildings in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, totaling more than 50,000 apartments, and is actively being designed and built in new projects. Currently, seven operators provide fixed communication services to apartment owners via this network, and negotiations are underway to bring in another federal operator for testing. Additionally, the network is widely used to provide smart home services and dispatch networks in new residential buildings. Inform-Svyaz's balance sheet includes multiple automated commercial metering systems for water and heat consumption, equipped with over 37,000 smart meters.
Andrey Kulazhenkov believes that the ministry's initiative is in the right direction and well-timed. However, the key lies in the model under which the requirements and standards for unified infrastructure will be standardized. He insists that common infrastructure can only be designed, built, and maintained by a professional infrastructure operator, and its ownership should also belong to that operator. This infrastructure should not merely be an in-building network allowing multiple operators to connect, but a complete data transmission network, including the core layer (operator access point), backbone fiber-optic lines, regional aggregation nodes, intra-neighborhood linear cable facilities, and an in-building distribution network with active equipment. All this infrastructure must be maintained and monitored by the operator itself.
Kulazhenkov further pointed out that such an infrastructure operator should not itself provide communication services to end users; its business model should be B2O services (services for operators), accompanied by corresponding inter-operator service level agreements (SLAs). He opposes models of public ownership or maintenance of communication infrastructure by management companies, arguing that regulatory direction should be set accordingly, potentially even considering a separate license for the infrastructure model.
Regarding concerns about losing competitive advantages, Kulazhenkov stated they do not exist. He believes that after more than ten years of practical implementation, Inform-Svyaz has accumulated unique experience in the open network model. This business model is complex both technically and organizationally, resulting in no pure replicators currently in the market. He observes that some operators connect to the network by leasing excess capacity from other operators, but he believes the 'sharing economy' approach will ultimately prevail in the communication infrastructure sector.
A representative from the press service of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia (ФАС России) expressed support, stating that the initiative ensures residents' rights to internet and information services after building handover. Alexey Yatsenko, founder and General Director of the management company "Comfort Group," noted that modern technology allows multiple providers to connect at the entrance of in-building infrastructure. He believes all engineering systems should be owned by apartment owners as common property, which would allow developers to plan cabling in advance and speed up the activation of communication services. For external networks, their infrastructure should be owned by the provider, but a protection mechanism should be established for shared use by other providers.
Alexey Akininov, Operations Director of the "Samot" Group, stated that developers want residents to receive high-quality, low-cost communication services. However, he also pointed out that the construction and operation of telecom networks are carried out by companies willing to invest, and high capital expenditures will ultimately be reflected in service tariffs or housing prices. If developers are required to deliver residential buildings with ready-made infrastructure, they will either include the cost in the housing price or sell or lease the infrastructure to operators, with the cost ultimately borne by consumers.
A representative from the press service of Megafon PJSC gave a positive assessment of the infrastructure sharing model, stating that its cooperation with Inform-Svyaz continues. The representative considers this an effective development option, leveraging existing networks to expand coverage without significantly increasing capital expenditures. For operators, equal access to infrastructure and transparent rental tariffs are equally crucial; fairness is key to sustainable interaction for all participants.
A source from the telecom market, however, argued that the Inform-Svyaz case differs in context from the upcoming new regulations, noting that the model's application requires a set of conditions, including unified technical requirements, unified SLAs, equal rights and obligations for all operators, unified API rules, and the exclusion of the integrated operator's influence on user choice. The source added that in an environment where non-discriminatory access laws have already created a competitive landscape, this model is only justified under specific conditions, such as the existence of network construction restrictions.
