For the cellular time: in 2025, only 250 out of 10 thousand villages in need of it can provide communications.

In 2025, the largest mobile operators of the Russian Federation can provide mobile communications and the Internet to almost 250 small (up to 1 thousand inhabitants) settlements, according to the materials of the State Commission on Radio Frequencies, which were reviewed by Izvestia. According to experts, this is only a tiny part of what is needed: in Russia, about ten thousand villages remain without cellular communications and the Internet. Experts call the project unprofitable for operators, so they receive a discount on the payment of the radio frequency spectrum by about 1 billion rubles per year. The State Commission may extend this benefit for a year.

How many villages are planning to provide cellular communications

In 2025, just over 230 small settlements (up to 1,000 inhabitants) across Russia will be able to receive high-quality cellular communications and mobile Internet. More than 50 of them are located in the border areas of Bryansk, Belgorod and Kursk regions. Slightly less than 130,000 Russians will have access to the services, according to the materials of the State Commission on Radio Frequencies (SCR), prepared by one of the cellular companies for its next meeting.

The figures were confirmed to Izvestia by the manager of another mobile operator involved in this social project. MTS, Vimpelcom and MegaFon are participating in it. As for T2, owned by the state operator Rostelecom, since 2021, under a state contract with the Ministry of Finance, it has been participating in a separate project to eliminate digital inequality, another Izvestia interlocutor explained.

— The projects involve the installation of LTE base stations in non-telephone small towns with between 100 and 500 residents. Since 2025, the MCP program has been expanded to settlements with a population of 500 to 1,000," he recalled.

The participation of the three largest non-governmental mobile operators in the social project suggests that they will be given a discount on fees for using the radio frequency spectrum, according to the materials of the State Emergency Committee. It is valid until December 31, but in order to continue the implementation of the initiative, it may be extended for a year, the materials say.

Now, thanks to this discount, MTS, Vimpelcom and MegaFon save about 1 billion rubles annually on frequency payments, a source in the cellular market told Izvestia. According to him, the total amount of operators' fees for frequencies is about 30 billion rubles per year.

Communication from space: via satellite, it will be possible to make calls from a regular smartphone

Who needs it and how the technology will work

In general, participation in such a social project for operators is a planned and unprofitable activity, another editorial source noted.

Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Finance.

— Mobile operators can receive a discount for the use of the radio frequency spectrum if they are willing to install from one to four base stations per quarter in settlements with up to 1,000 inhabitants. Each region has its own quota for the number of stations from one operator," a source close to the ministry explained to Izvestia.

At the same time, operators independently, in coordination with the regional administration and Roskomnadzor, select localities where base stations will be installed: this list is updated by operators quarterly, the source said. This support measure helps to increase the number of villages and towns that are provided with voice and data services: thanks to it, 44 thousand more people have connected to mobile communications in January 2025, he noted.

What does the government do for subscribers from remote regions?

According to the government-funded digital inequality elimination program, Rostelecom and T2 will have to install at least 18,420 base stations in small towns (estimated at about 12,000). But their number may decrease if any of the four cellular competitors reach these points before Rostelecom, said Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research.

There are about ten thousand settlements in Russia where there are no normal mobile communications and mobile Internet, Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily, added. According to him, 250 villages are, of course, extremely small against this background. But, on the other hand, it is not easy to build in such places: it is necessary to supply power, communication channels, and build infrastructure there — all this cannot be done simultaneously throughout Russia, such projects last for years, he noted.

The program of providing operators with discounts on payments for the use of the radio frequency spectrum allows them to compensate for part of the cost of building new base stations in small settlements, where placement does not pay off from a commercial point of view, Vimpelcom noted. The program is not valid in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Leningrad regions, they recalled.

"We welcome the extension of the program, as this will allow us to start providing high—quality mobile communication services in small towns as soon as possible," the company says.

Rostelecom supports a model according to which operators are granted frequency benefits for expanding coverage of sparsely populated areas. This makes it possible to improve the economics of network construction in territories where its profitability is a priori lower, the company noted.

On their own waves: the industry will transfer the frequencies of the American Globalstar

Why do factories and power plants need this and what risks do mobile operators see?

MTS declined to comment. Izvestia also sent a request to MegaFon.

According to Leonid Konik, the federal legislation does not specify how many people live in small settlements subject to telephony.: This created bureaucratic obstacles for connecting such villages and towns to modern communication services.

— The regional legislation of some subjects (for example, the Komi Republic and the Perm Territory) states: "Settlements with a population of less than 100 people are considered to be small." However, in the reports on the implementation of the UCN program, the Ministry of Finance calls settlements with a population of 100 to 500 people small," he noted.

Vimpelcom, MegaFon, MTS, as well as the Ural operator Yekaterinburg-2000, operating under the Motif brand, will compete in who will come to one or another small settlement within the framework of the social project, Leonid Konik added.

This form of public-private partnership — a discount in exchange for participation in social programs — is beneficial not only to subscribers who will have a cellular connection near their home. This is also beneficial for subscribers from other regions, because fees for using the radio frequency spectrum, like any other additional costs, will not stimulate tariff growth, Denis Kuskov concluded.