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July 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 21
Number of mobile subscribers in Turkey increases 4% y/y in Q1
The number of mobile subscribers in Turkey rose by 4% y/y to 78.9mn in the first quarter, according to the latest data from Turkish communication industry watchdog (BTK).
The number of Internet subscribers also rose by 9% y/y to 70mn in the first quarter of 2018 while the number of fixed line subscribers increased by 4% y/y to 11.5mn.
Total revenues of the Turkish communication industry also rose by 15% y/y to TRY13.8bn (€2.57bn) in the first quarter while total investments increased by 16% y/y to TRY1.3bn.
Russia advances regulation of online marketplaces
Russia's State Duma accepted a bill on regulation of internet aggregators of goods and services and their responsibilities to consumers in the second reading on June 17.
Russia's digital economy is booming, with the larg- est players developing ambitious marketplace and eco-systems projects, such as the joint venture be- tween Sberbank and Yandex.Market, and possible alliance between VTB Bank and Chinese Alibaba.
The new legislation clarifies the definition of the "owner" of the aggregator as one controlling
the respective software and websites. While the aggregator is responsible for any misleading information on goods and services provided to consumers, it is not responsible for any claims should the information be transmitted from third parties in full and with no modifications.
The consumers also gain the right to a 10-day refund should the goods and services providers fail to deliver on the purchase. The bill has to be approved in the third reading and could take effect as of July 1, 2019.
Industry experts and Yandex.Market representatives surveyed by Vedomosti daily on the issue warned that making aggregators responsible for quality controls, information reliability, and delivery could lead to abuse by consumers.
Russian anti-virus company Dr.Web gets special legal status
Russian anti-virus software company Dr.Web got a special status from the Russian authorities which will allow it to flag and request blocking
of malicious internet resources and websites, Vedomosti daily reported.
Previously only the cybersecurity major Kasperksy Lab, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), and other state agencies had a similar status granted by the centralised national domain registrar. In 2017 all these combined blocked 5,108 domains.
Malicious websites can be revealed from Dr.Web's client requests or through other activities. Other agencies that can flag the suspicious domains are Roskomnadzor watchdog that was behind
the unsuccessful blocking of the Telegram messenger, RU-CERT cybersecurity agency, Group-IB cybersecurity company, Bi.Zone, and the League of Safe Internet.
Telekom Slovenije’s net profit down to €14.5mn in H1
State-owned Telekom Slovenije Group recorded net profit of €14.5mn in H1, a decrease of almost €10mn compared to the €24.3mn recorded in the first half of 2017, the company announced.
The lower profits, and the company’s reports that it faces higher operating costs and lower revenues on the mobile segment of the end-user market due to EU regulations may make it harder for the telco to achieve its goal of €40.9mn net profit for the whole of 2018. The planned profit would be a