A short summary: how not to be left without Internet after returning to Russia from abroad

The introduction of a daily SIM-card lock after returning from abroad is still painless, Izvestia was convinced by interviewing users who have already used the new system. Authorization in the home network takes several minutes — the operators send an SMS with a so-called captcha, after entering which access to the connection is restored. Experts also do not expect significant problems for travelers, however, they note that customers of those services where a Wi-Fi connection is required for authorization may be temporarily without Internet. How else can you activate the SIM card and what are the pitfalls - in the material of Izvestia.

How to remove SMS and Internet blocking upon returning to Russia

The new rule on daily blocking of SIM cards after returning from abroad has not yet created any problems for subscribers. Izvestia was convinced of this by selectively interviewing passengers who arrived at Sheremetyevo airport from abroad on the morning of November 11. Almost no one got off the plane without an Internet connection.

— We arrived, followed the link from the SMS, passed the captcha puzzle, and the Internet started working, — said one of the survey participants.

Some operators warn customers about the procedure in advance. For example, a young couple who arrived from Iran received an SMS with instructions at the airport in Tehran.

On November 10, the Ministry of Finance officially announced the introduction of a "cooling-off period" for SIM cards of subscribers who returned from international roaming or did not use the internet for more than 72 hours. During the day after the return, such cards operate in a limited mode — the subscriber cannot use the mobile Internet and send SMS. You can unlock access by clicking on the link from the message from the operator and entering a captcha on the page that opens, the Ministry of Finance instructed subscribers. An alternative option is to confirm your identity by calling the operator's contact center.

The Ministry of Finance explained that the innovation is related to measures to protect against drone attacks. According to the agency, SIM cards with mobile Internet can be used inside enemy UAVs for navigation. The introduction of a temporary lockdown will increase security against such threats, the ministry noted.

However, the implementation of the new measure is still not without its rough edges. For example, T2 asks subscribers to connect to Wi-Fi before downloading the captcha. This is indicated in the SMS messages that users receive. The operator does not specify where to get it for passengers who have just disembarked from the plane, and subscribers have to look for a solution on their own.

— I asked people to distribute WiFi, — one of the subscribers shared her "life hack".

Representatives of the four largest Russian cellular companies declined to comment or did not respond to questions from Izvestia. The editorial board also sent a request to the Ministry of Finance.

What kind of communication problems can occur?

There are no problems for the vast majority of those returning to the Russian Federation — the time spent at passport control is enough for authorization through a captcha, said Sergey Polovnikov, head of the Content-Review project. The only difficulty of the innovation, according to the expert, is authorization through a call center. If the automatic procedure fails and hundreds of subscribers start calling the operator at the same time, some of them risk being left without Internet — the center may simply not be able to cope with the load, he warns.

Sergey Polovnikov considers connection via Wi-Fi for authorization to be another potential problem. If a subscriber can only use Wi-Fi, which also requires an SMS code to access, a vicious circle arises: a person cannot connect to either mobile or wireless Internet because they do not receive the necessary messages, the expert explains. In addition, it takes a long time for a subscriber crossing the border by car or on foot to find an accessible point, added Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group.

According to him, the proposed authorization schemes do not yet take into account users of devices with the Internet of Things. It is still unclear how to use a captcha to authorize a SIM card installed in a car's on-board computer, navigation system, or telemetry. Also, the possibility of authorization only through a call to the contact center causes difficulties for owners of push-button phones — dialing can take a long time, he noted.

Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily, believes that operators are obliged to monitor the stable operation of IT systems responsible for sending SMS with authorization and captcha processing: otherwise, in case of failures or overloads, some customers at airports and border crossings may be left without Internet. According to him, over the past three years, cellular companies have carried out significant work on subscriber identification and authorization.