The article is devoted to the licensing system in telecommunication, the analysis of the existing bansand restrictions, red tape and means to reduce it. The efficiency of the branch depends much fromthe methods of state regulation and the measures of the licensing system. The article studies legalgrounds of the communication activity providing for a complex of authorizing measures including licensing,registration, allocation of the bands of radiofrequency spectrum, distribution and use of numerationresources. The licensing measures are divided into two blocks, i.e. the measures determining theconditions for the communication providers and the measures setting the requirements to the appliedequipment and constructions (fixtures, cables, radio electronic means and high frequency devices).The problems of licensing communication services are determined by various reasons including a largenumber of licensed activities.Communications provider has to get a dozen of licenses to perform its activity. Hence, it seems reasonableto borrow the experience of other countries where legislations provide for the opportunity to obtaina single license. However, it is necessary to amend the federal law On Connection and the legislation onlicensing. Besides, the opposite problem exists, that is larger sets of communication services subject tolicensing. This circumstance is good for the major players on the telecommunication market but smallerproviders have to comply with additional requirements. Attention is drawn to one of the acute issues asto acquiring the license to the communication services — limited capacity of radio frequency spectrum,thus the assignment of radio frequencies may become a serious administrative barrier.