Label rules: a third of calls to Russians' cell numbers are still anonymous
About a third of calls to Russians' mobile phones from organizations are still received without identification, representatives of mobile operators told Izvestia. This is happening despite the fact that the law on mandatory labeling of such calls has been in effect since September 1, 2025. The measure was designed to protect citizens from phone spam, but in practice, the requirements are often ignored by small telecom companies, which number about 1,000, as well as individual organizations that call customers. Unnamed business calls should be blocked, but this is not being done, as the legislation does not prescribe responsibility for this, experts say. In addition, small telecom companies and other organizations do not want to pay for the service, they add. How such calls are dangerous for subscribers and how the problem can be solved is described in the Izvestia article.
How many unmarked calls do subscribers receive
Despite the entry into force of the Law on Communications on September 1, 2025, about a third of calls from organizations to Russians remain unmarked. As a result, when an incoming call is received, subscribers do not see the name of the calling entity on the phone screen. This was reported to Izvestia by a source close to one of the mobile operators. Such calls, as a rule, arrive in the networks of large cellular operators from the networks of small fixed-line operators, of which there are about 1 thousand in the Russian Federation. Both the operators themselves and some of their customers, including banks, microfinance organizations and other commercial structures, are in no hurry to introduce labeling, the source said.
"According to our data, approximately one third of the total number of calls received by our clients on a monthly basis are not marked," Vimpelcom (Beeline) told Izvestia. — At the same time, the figure may vary from month to month. Indeed, such calls usually come from financial companies and small telecom operators.
At the same time, all the necessary technical conditions for Beeline to comply with the law have been created: the operator interacts with the business on an ongoing basis on labeling issues, conducts explanatory work and talks about how it works, the company added.
Approximately 35-40% of calls on the T2 network are still unlabeled, among their initiators are banks, small fixed-line operators, real estate agencies and insurance companies, Daria Kolesnikova, a representative of the company, told Izvestia. According to her, this is due to the fact that some organizations are reluctant to connect the service, believing that the service should be free.
Amendments to the law "On Communications", adopted in 2025 as part of a large-scale package of anti-fraud measures, oblige to identify all calls from legal entities to individual subscribers. Schematically, it works like this: an organization enters into a labeling agreement with its operator (for example, a fixed-line telephone company), after which the latter transmits the "label" that the mobile subscriber should see on the smartphone screen to his mobile operator. At the same time, the latter charge organizations or their operators a fee for the service, which, depending on the company, is 0.24–0.46 rubles per call.
Some organizations do not want to label their calls and do not pay for the corresponding service. Some small operators serving businesses do the same: they do not transfer the data of corporate subscribers to mobile phones, a source in the communications market explained. According to him, one of the reasons for the problem is the lack of responsibility, including fines, for non—compliance with identification requirements. The government decree clarifying the law states that the service must be provided on the basis of a contract, and whether it is reimbursable or not is not detailed, added Konik, a partner at ComNews Research.
Labeling incoming calls is an important measure aimed at protecting citizens from telephone fraud and spam, as well as increasing the transparency of communications between businesses and customers, the Ministry of Finance told Izvestia. Some of the calls may not be labeled yet, because small fixed-line telephony operators are continuing negotiations with the largest mobile operators on a scheme of interaction in the provision of this service, the department noted.
MTS told Izvestia that they regularly informed their corporate clients about the importance of connecting the call labeling service.
— Most of them are already working in accordance with the established requirements. Calls from companies that have not yet signed an agreement for some reason will be displayed as an "unlabeled" call, MTS said.
Izvestia also sent a request to Megafon.
How to get rid of anonymous calls
Today, there is a conflict between the "big four cellular networks" and small fixed—line operators - they are outraged that they have to pay cellular companies an average of 0.3 rubles per call, regardless of the success of the connection, Leonid Konik noted. They are convinced that the labeling service should be free for them, he said.
— The marking is essentially an alphanumeric caller ID (automatic caller ID). The service is inextricably linked to the provision of communication services and, in accordance with the law, is free, as is the caller ID itself. So why are mobile operators turning everything upside down? — asks a representative of one of them.
According to Leonid Konik, the law is violated not so much by operators as by the owners of the rooms — legal entities and sole proprietors.
— Many companies and individual entrepreneurs have not concluded labeling agreements with their signalman. And often these violators are far from small firms," he says.
Organizations that do not label calls do not take into account that the launch of the service required the purchase, configuration and maintenance of specialized equipment on the network of telecom operators, and its provision requires constant operating costs, says Daria Kolesnikova from T2.
"Since credit and financial organizations make up the largest share of unmarked calls, we expect the Bank of Russia to indicate the need to display identification," she said. — This is critically important because labeling not only reduces customer annoyance from unwanted calls, but also helps to combat phone fraud. If the service is faithfully connected by the initiators of mass calls in accordance with the law, the client can be sure that the call marked as originating from a specific organization is indeed coming from it, and the call from an unknown number is potentially fraudulent.
Izvestia sent a request to the Central Bank.
Experts believe that further improvement of the regulatory framework will help reduce the proportion of anonymous B2C calls.
Labeling calls protects users from spam and scams, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily. It allows you to understand whether the caller can be trusted, and if so, how much. This, for example, allows you to filter out calls from unfamiliar numbers and, conversely, not miss the desired call. Labeling saves time, money, and protects against contact with phone scammers, the expert listed.
— In the Code of Administrative Offences, it is necessary to fix specific measures of responsibility for calls without labeling. Documents regulating the payment for this service should also be developed," he believes. — Organizations and small fixed-line operators that currently do not want to issue it can be understood: with daily calls from thousands of customers, a fee of 0.3 rubles for each call creates a significant additional burden for the business.
In his opinion, it is advisable to introduce a one-time payment for its connection, and the subsequent use of it should be free.
Responsibility for unmarked calls should be defined at the legislative level, agrees Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group. In his opinion, it is necessary to clearly define the criteria by which bona fide entrepreneurs can be distinguished from malicious spammers.
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