Recalculation is over: Russia and Belarus finalize preparations for roaming cancellation

The issue of abolishing roaming between Russia and Belarus, which has been discussed since the late 2010s, is practically closed - the countries are finalizing preparations, and operators are looking for optimal ways to reduce prices, their representatives told Izvestia. "Guest" fee when traveling to the union states will be canceled from March 1, 2025. The revision of tariffs is an important political step aimed at strengthening and development of the Union State, experts emphasize. Now, when more and more people travel between Russia and Belarus as tourists and for work, this measure has become especially relevant, they add.

Cancellation of roaming between Russia and Belarus

Roaming between Russia and Belarus will be canceled from March 1, 2025. This decision, which was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Union State in November 2024, put an end to the discussion of tariffs for subscribers of these countries, which lasted since 2017. Operators are currently looking for optimal ways to reduce prices.

- "We are discussing implementation options and looking for solutions that will reduce communication tariffs when subscribers are in the Union State," Megafon's press service told Izvestia.

T2 noted that the company strives to provide the best conditions for customers - the operator, for example, was the first to cancel roaming surcharge in Crimea and Sevastopol.

- In recent years, T2 has systematically improved the conditions of communication costs for customers traveling to Belarus, free roaming is partially realized, - said the operator's representative Daria Kolesnikova. - Thus, incoming calls are free for our customers during their stay in this country. We are in dialog with the regulator and Belarusian partners on further improving the availability of roaming.

In "Vimpelcom" noted that the issue of canceling international roaming between Russia and Belarus is in the active stage of development.

- Detailed information on the terms of service for subscribers will be available after the completion of all necessary procedures, - said the company.

From March 1, residents of Russia and Belarus will be able to use mobile communication and Internet on the territory of the Union State at comfortable "home" tariffs, said the Ministry of Communications. Subscribers will get 300 minutes of calls (150 incoming and 150 outgoing) - they are included in the "home" package without additional payments - and 5 GB of Internet at comfortable tariffs, comparable to the usual conditions in their network, the ministry said.

- To implement these changes, minimum mutual settlements have been established between telecom operators. On a permanent basis, they also agreed to carry out measures to counter fraud," the ministry added.

"Izvestia" also sent a request to the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of Belarus to comment on the prospects of digital projects with Russia.

The abolition of roaming is important not only for economic reasons, because it affects the overall progress of the Union State idea, said the head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian integration and relations with compatriots, Leonid Kalashnikov.

- I think this decision is a reasonable step to make people feel not only in words, but also in deeds as citizens of one Union State," he said.

Why the zeroing of charges for calls "while visiting" has become topical

According to the head of the Content-Review project Sergey Polovnikov, in this situation it is important to respect the interests of operators both in Russia and Belarus. The fact is that more subscribers from the Russian Federation travel to the neighboring country, which means that a certain skew in traffic is created, i.e. domestic companies have to pay more to the Belarusian side for servicing subscribers with Russian SIM-cards than our operators from the neighboring country, he explained.

Reduction in the cost of calls, SMS messages and Internet traffic for Russian and Belarusian subscribers in the Union State began in November 2020 in the test mode. In August 2021, Moscow and Minsk agreed to apply reduced rates for roaming subscribers of the two countries on a permanent basis from September of the same year. April 1, 2022, the decision to abolish the fee for incoming calls in the Union State came into force. Also from this day, Belarusian operators provide subscribers with 40 free minutes of incoming calls when a subscriber is roaming in Russia. The cost of outgoing calls from the Russian Federation to the neighboring country was close to the price of an inter-network call.

It is fundamentally important for Belarus to develop cooperation in the field of digitalization with Russia, including under pressure from the West, Director of the Center for European Integration Yuri Shevtsov told Izvestia. On January 15, the republic approved the concept of ensuring sovereignty in the sphere of digital development, as Minsk adheres to the course of technological reversal from Western countries, the expert recalled.

According to him, in order not to fall into technological dependence on the West, it's necessary to introduce their own standards and pursue a "policy of protection.

More and more citizens of Russia and Belarus are moving between the union countries. This is facilitated by the development of business relations and tourist realities, says Denis Kuskov, General Director of TelecomDaily. According to him, the abolition of roaming between the two countries fits into the global logic of telecom market development. In the EU, for example, it has long been possible to move from country to country using a home tariff, the expert reminded.