Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest telecommunications operator, has faced serious financial sanctions from the regulator. The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has decided to impose a fine of 17.5 million hryvnias. The reason for the penalty was the use of the advertising claim "No. 1 mobile internet speed" in a marketing campaign.
Reasons for the regulator's claims
AMCU specialists classified the operator's actions as the dissemination of inaccurate information, which violates Article 15-1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Protection against Unfair Competition". According to officials, the company misled consumers.
The main complaint was not the fact of the leadership claim itself, but the way accompanying information was presented. The Committee noted that data on measurement sources, research periods, and obtained average figures were placed in such a way that their simultaneous perception with the main advertising slogan was difficult.
Kyivstar's position: refusal to admit guilt
The operator's press service stated that they do not agree with the conclusions of the antimonopoly body and consider the decision unfounded. The company emphasized that it respects the role of AMCU in ensuring fair competition, but insists on its own correctness.
The operator argues its position by stating that it relied on official data from the independent international company Ookla, whose services (Speedtest) are the generally accepted world standard for assessing internet speed. Kyivstar claims that all material conditions and data sources were disclosed properly, and the communication fully complied with current legislation.
Future plans
The parties are ready to continue the conflict in court. Kyivstar has already announced its intention to appeal the regulator's decision in court, not sharing AMCU's preliminary conclusions.
This incident occurs against the backdrop of the company's active activities in related sectors. Earlier, AMCU allowed Kyivstar to acquire the cloud provider GigaCloud, which serves important state services such as "Diia" and "Prozorro". In return, the regulator obliged the operator not to impose telecom services on the provider's clients. Today, the Kyivstar group already owns the medical service Helsi, the "Kyivstar TV" platform, the taxi service Uklon, and the marketplace Tabletki.ua.
