The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed Draft Law 9549 in the first reading, which will allow operators to obtain land lease permits for the construction of mobile stations faster.

In particular, it is intended to provide mobile communications and 4G to national and international roads and rural areas. Members of the Verkhovna Rada supported it in the first reading.

One of the priority goals of the Ministry of Digital Transformation by 2030 is to provide 95% of the population with high-quality mobile communications. To achieve this goal, the state must issue land permits to mobile operators, which are necessary for the construction of mobile stations, more quickly. Today, this process is slow due to a number of bureaucratic procedures, but in the future, with the adoption of the draft law, it will be faster.

The bill will allow for the following:

• reducing the timeframe for allocating municipal and state-owned land plots from an average of 6 to 3 months;
• using the limited right to use someone else's land plot for the construction of mobile communication towers on the land plots;
• installation of temporary electronic communications equipment and facilities. This removes the risk of their dismantling, as there is currently no procedure for the placement of such facilities and structures.

To minimise corruption risks, the draft law stipulates that only mobile operators included in the register of electronic communications service providers will have the limited right to use someone else's land plot. The register is compiled and checked by the National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequency Spectrum and the Provision of Postal Services (NCCIR).