The Internet Association of Ukraine, which unites more than 220 operators and providers, sent an appeal to the Ministry of Digital Transformation regarding the negative consequences of the recommendation to transfer consumers to PON networks as soon as possible.
According to the InAU, the Ministry of Digital Transformation continues its campaign to encourage consumers to switch to Internet access providers that use xPON technology. Recently, in order to encourage such a transition, the Ministry announced the development of a map of providers using this technology.
The InAU draws attention to the fact that the Ministry’s unconditional calls for the transition to PON technologies create conditions for violating the rights of consumers, who are usually not aware of the specifics of certain technologies.
“It also diverts the limited resources of the state and operators from providing priority backup power to critical infrastructure facilities, which worsens the state’s security in times of war. In addition, calls to use the services of some operators to the detriment of others violate the conditions of economic competition, create the basis for market monopolization and the loss of unique features of the Ukrainian telecom that have so far allowed it to withstand Russian aggression,” the InAU said.
The InAU calls on the Ministry of Digital Transformation to stop lobbying for one access technology to the detriment of another and not to take actions that may cause irreparable harm not only to operators acting in full compliance with the law, but also to subscribers and the state, and in difficult times not to create conditions for confrontation between market participants, but to promote their unification for the sake of a common goal – ensuring the stability of electronic communications networks and proper quality of services.
We would like to add that the GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) technology is a representative of the family of passive optical access network technologies that has the highest speed, synchronous frame format, and integration with ATM and TDM technologies. In this case, the signal is transmitted via fiber-optic cable directly from the provider to the consumer, so it is non-volatile. But in FTTB, for example, the optical cable goes to a router in the house (and then via Ethernet to consumers), which must have a battery to work during power outages.
