- Статьи
- Economy
- For the access zone: the FAS drew attention to the cost of roaming during the holidays
For the access zone: the FAS drew attention to the cost of roaming during the holidays
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called on Maxim Shaskolsky, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of the Russian Federation, to monitor the cost of communication and roaming services ahead of the summer holiday season. In response, the head of the FAS noted that tariffs for communication services when traveling in Russia have already been brought to the level of the home region. In addition, the service checks every tariff increase of the largest operators. Izvestia investigated what problems exist in the cellular market besides pricing and how they can be solved.
Checking the connection
Prices for communication services in Russia are among the lowest in the world, the press service of the Ministry of Finance reminded Izvestia.
"The Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Ministry of Finance are closely monitoring the prices of communication services. If violations are suspected, an inspection is carried out promptly. Tariffs should not rise above the inflation rate," the ministry said.
The ministry also stressed that from March 1, 2025, residents of Russia and Belarus can use mobile communications and the Internet on the territory of the Union State at "comfortable home rates."
"At least 300 minutes of calls (150 incoming and 150 outgoing) no additional charges for the package tariff plan. 5 GB of Internet at comfortable rates comparable to the usual conditions on a home network," the press service of the Ministry of Digital Affairs clarified.
According to the Ministry, special tariffs are activated automatically when all operators cross the border, and users receive full information about conditions and balances in SMS notifications.
Fighting for customers
The mobile market in Russia is saturated, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for telecom operators to attract new customers, so the key growth factors for them are an increase in tariffs, as well as the sale of additional services, Tatiana Khansuvarova, an expert at the ACRA corporate ratings group, told Izvestia.
— The m2m segment (a segment that includes communication between devices) or, more broadly, IoT (Internet of Things) remains promising, but its development is unlikely to have a significant impact on the work of mobile operators. At the same time, communication services have long been a basic need of the population, which explains the FAS's close attention to tariff changes," the expert noted.
In her opinion, mobile operators will have no choice but to develop their ecosystem of services, unlocking the potential of the customer base and infrastructure in order to retain and entice customers, as well as increase revenue from subscribers by providing additional services within the ecosystem.
The main difficulties
Today, the mobile communications market in Russia, despite significant progress in infrastructure development and service quality growth, still faces a number of serious problems that require attention and systematic work, said Deputy Director of the Institute of Digital Transformation of Education for Information Security and Technical Issues, project manager, in an interview with Izvestia. Andrey Starikovsky, Director of the Center for Digital Management Technologies at the Institute of Information Systems, GUU.
— The cost of roaming within the country remains relevant, especially on the eve of the summer holiday season. Although the Federal Antimonopoly Service announced the completion of work on bringing tariffs for communication services to the conditions of the home region, in practice, users still have situations where different pricing conditions apply when moving between regions of the Russian Federation, the expert said. — This is especially noticeable in the case of switching to the coverage area of another operator or when using the mobile Internet — even a short-term connection can lead to significant amounts being charged.
Another important problem, according to him, remains the lack of transparency of tariffs. Complex descriptions, hidden subscriptions, additional paid options by default — all this causes fair dissatisfaction among subscribers. People want to be clear about what they're paying for and how much it costs, without having to sort through multi-page terms and passable notes.
— An equally serious problem is the uneven coverage of communications and the quality of mobile Internet. In large cities, access to a high—speed network has long been the norm, but in rural and remote areas there are still areas of unstable signal or complete lack of coverage," Andrei Starikovsky said. — This is especially acutely felt during the holidays, when many citizens travel outside megacities and face restrictions in access to communications.
In addition, according to the expert, there is a low level of competition in a number of regions. The presence of one or two large operators creates conditions in which users have virtually no choice, and companies have no incentive to lower prices or improve the quality of service. This limits the development of the market and negatively affects the rights of consumers.
However, all these issues have complex solutions, Andrei Starikovsky noted. First, further control by the state, including by the Federal Antimonopoly Service, is needed to ensure compliance with the "home tariff" principle when moving within the country. It is important not only to formally complete such a reform, but also to ensure its real application — with a transparent notification system and protection of subscribers' rights.
— Secondly, attention should be paid to increasing the transparency of tariff plans. The regulator can establish mandatory standards for describing services, prohibit automatic subscriptions without user consent, and also introduce a compensation mechanism for erroneous debiting of funds, the expert emphasized.
In his opinion, the issue of infrastructure development is a separate task that requires joint efforts by the state and operators. First of all, investments in expanding coverage in rural areas should be stimulated, possibly through subsidies, tax incentives, or public-private partnership mechanisms.
"As for competition, it is important to facilitate market access for new players, especially virtual operators (MVNOs), as well as to ensure antimonopoly regulation in regions with a dominant position of one operator,— said Andrey Starikovsky. — Finally, it is necessary to develop socially oriented tariffs for pensioners, students, and low—income citizens. This will help make communication truly accessible to all segments of the population.
Izvestia sent a request to the FAS, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
