Mobile operators will eliminate intra-network roaming charges in Russian regions by the end of September. This was reported by Interfax on Monday, August 20.
From August 20, PJSC VimpelCom (Beeline) will waive the fee for incoming calls when calling from other countries. regions and while traveling within Russia. Megafon plans to stop charging for the same service starting August 30, 2018. MTS plans to do the same for 90% subscribers by August 30, and for the remaining 10% subscribers by September 30. Tele2 is making all incoming calls free starting August 31.
The abolition of intra-network roaming in Russia became possible after the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) conducted antitrust investigations against telecom operators. The agency's experts found unreasonably high roaming prices. The service later issued corresponding warnings to the Big Four operators. Interestingly, only Tele2 voluntarily agreed to this step. Other mobile operators refused to comply with the FAS's demands, resulting in them being implicated in antitrust violation cases.
As of today, all operators have informed the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) that they have complied with the service's requirements and have cancelled paid roaming services. The antimonopoly service also stated that there will be no increase in communication prices following this new regulation, as there are no grounds for such increases. FAS representatives are confident that subscribers will begin consuming significantly more services after the abolition of roaming, which will allow operators to maintain profitability and prevent individuals from paying more.
Source: news.turizm.ru