Intra-network roaming in Russia must be abolished by December 15, 2017, according to the press service of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).
According to FAS representatives, all Russian mobile operators have confirmed their readiness to comply with the FAS warning about Eliminating the cost differences for the same communication services in your home region and while traveling around the country. Providers will report monthly on the progress of this process.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service explains that if an operator doesn't have its own network in a particular Russian region, its subscribers will be connected to another company's network through national roaming. The operators, in turn, will bill each other for servicing "non-their" customers.
According to the agency, long-distance call rates to numbers on other networks are significantly inflated. For example, Tele2 charges 5,280 times the rate, Megafon 3,000 times, Beeline 1,970 times, and MTS 22 times the rate. The antimonopoly service asserts that these differences are neither economically nor technologically justified.
As a reminder, in mid-July 2017, the Federal Antimonopoly Service ordered the Big Four mobile operators (VimpelCom, MTS, MegaFon, and T2 Mobile) to cancel domestic roaming charges within 14 days. However, one of the companies filed a petition to extend the deadline for complying with this notice, which was granted.
Source: news.turizm.ru