Starting tomorrow, spammers will no longer be able to reach Ukrainians. But there is a nuance: budget structures may also be unable to reach them. Here is our analysis

Prehistory

According to the largest telecommunications operator Ukrtelecom, since the end of 2024, mobile operators have started blocking calls from some numbers. These included calls that were used to authenticate the end user’s phone number. These are the so-called Flash Calls — when, for example, a bank calls you and asks you to enter the last 4 digits of the number as a code. In addition, around the same time, operators began to «mark» as risky/fraudulent/spammer numbers from which, in their opinion, calls were made for the purpose of distributing advertising.

Ukrtelecom believes that such actions could be interpreted as a violation of the legislation regulating the provision of electronic communications services. «We are aware of complaints from subscribers to the National Commission for the Control of Electronic Communications (NCEC) (telecom regulator — Ed.), as well as applications to the Antimonopoly Service of Ukraine (AMCU) regarding such illegal actions,» the company notes.

Why was it blocked?

As Ukrtelecom says, the reason for such actions by mobile operators is that FlashCalls (i.e. calls for subscriber authorization) are calls that, as a rule, have zero duration, and, accordingly, mobile operators did not receive income from such calls in the form of a fixed rate for call termination services on their network (7.5 kopecks for each minute).

Moreover, the FlashCalls service is an alternative to SMS authorization, the cost of which is currently 75 kopecks. The more subscriber authorizations are made by calling the phone, the less operators will earn on SMS.

New rules

The Ministry of Digital Affairs of Ukraine initiated amendments to the Rules for the Provision and Reception of Telecom Services by mobile operators, the new edition of which was approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 761 dated June 25, 2025. The Rules come into force on October 2, 2025.

The rules now define two types of challenges:

• Unproductive calls — calls that lead to inefficient use of electronic communications network resources, negatively affect the quality indicators of such a network, are made from the same subscriber number in the direction of one or more numbers regardless of the fact of establishing a connection and providing services, and have two or more [out of 8] characteristics and signs of productivity (listed in the rules).
• Commercial calls — the use, based on a contract for the provision of commercial calling services, of the numbering resource provided to the end user to initiate outgoing calls for the purpose of distributing advertising or authenticating the telephone number of the end user being called.

As noted in the press service of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the resolution provides operators with tools to combat spam calls and intrusive advertising.

Companies that plan to call customers must enter into a contract with the operator and use only the numbers specified in it.

Why is it necessary to have such a distribution of calls?

As Ukrtelecom emphasizes, the logic of the changes is obviously as follows: numbers from which calls are made that fall under the characteristics and signs of unproductive numbers are blocked. In order to avoid blocking, numbers must be technologically allocated to a separate group as those from which commercial calls are made.

As the editorial office learned, two mobile operators have already addressed other operators (including Ukrtelecom) with a proposal to conclude relevant additional agreements to the agreements on network interconnection, in which they proposed to establish a separate settlement fee for the termination of commercial calls. One of the letters indicates a specific amount for such a connection service — 50 kopecks. dev.ua has received letters from two mobile operators of this type.

So the commercial calling agreement looks like a revival of the long-abolished «connection fee.»

It seems rather strange why the costs for such a call should be borne not by the commercial organization that ordered it, but by the operator from whose network the call is made.

Issues

The establishment of a «connection fee» for commercial calls is not provided for by the legislation, Ukrtelecom emphasizes. Moreover, clause 89 of the Rules directly prohibits electronic communications operators from charging subscribers for calls with zero duration. That is, the operator cannot «pass on» the FlashCalls termination fee to its subscriber. Providing such a service will be unprofitable for the operator from whose network the call is made.

In particular, this concerns subscribers of the segment of budgetary institutions (legal entities of the public sector, including state authorities, local governments, budgetary institutions, state and municipal enterprises, as well as other organizations), which, even if they were engaged in this, due to existing regulatory restrictions , cannot conclude contracts with electronic communications operators for the provision of commercial call services.

The new version of the Rules actually leads to an increase in the cost of services for all legal entities that want to avoid blocking their telephone numbers, because the only way to do this is to transfer the numbers to the «commercial» category.

«Therefore, even if a 'connection fee' is established, the amount of such a fee should be established by the state,» Ukrtelecom believes. According to the company’s estimates, it will be forced to pay other operators up to 10 million per year if a connection fee is introduced for commercial calls.

We have contacted mobile operators with questions and are awaiting answers.

UPD (October 2, 2025), comment of the press service of Vodafone Ukraine:

«The Rules do provide for the possibility of blocking spam and unproductive traffic, i.e. calls that are not ordered by the subscriber (the Rules define the signs of these calls). Such calls can be blocked on the basis of relevant acts, subscriber complaints, and other evidence of their malicious intent provided for by law.

Commercial calls will not be blocked if the operator-partner of the customer of such calls proves that they are made on the basis of relevant contracts, that the consent of the recipients of such calls has been obtained by the customer and the calls themselves are productive. Here, certain commercial relations do arise between the operators: the partner of the customer of commercial calls and the owner of the network to which these calls are directed (if these are two different operators).

Since the operator-owner of the network to which a commercial call is directed does not have a direct contract with the customer of such calls. Therefore, if one operator has a contract with such a customer and directs calls through its network for a separate fee, it must somehow compensate the other operator for the corresponding costs of servicing such calls — this is quite fair.

As for government bodies, they do not engage in commercial advertising and the information they disseminate does not fall under the definition of a commercial challenge.

In addition, such information is sent mainly via SMS, not via calls, based on relevant orders of the National Communications Commission or contracts. Therefore, there are currently no risks to such information mailings.»