Rejection removes controls over use of Yamal pipeline fiber optic links

Parliament yesterday rejected proposed changes to the Telecommunications Law, effectively removing Polish control over the telecommunications network along the Polish section of the Yamal pipeline. According to Andrzej Piotrowski, a telecommunications specialist, the amendment was a mockery, since the Russians have at their disposal infrastructure that is far more advanced than optical fiber links. The amendment had been aimed at closing a legal loophole which allowed telecommunications networks crossing Polish territory to disregard the national law. According to supporters of the amendment, the Yamal pipeline is likely to be the biggest information route between Berlin and Moscow, and it was reasonable to propose that permission should have to be obtained from the government for using such an international telecommunications network. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 17; Puls Biznesu, p. 4) P.W.