Russian telecom operators have begun to raise the cost of tariffs and impose more expensive services on their customers in order to compensate for the increase in the cost of maintaining communication networks and equipment. Representatives of mobile operators admitted this in a conversation with Vedomosti. The publication notes that against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the cost of network maintenance increased by 20-30%.
Megafon and Tele2 have already notified their subscribers that from the beginning of 2023 they will face an increase in the cost of existing tariffs. Beeline is trying to compensate for the costs of maintaining the infrastructure and equipment by offering more expensive service packages, and MTS has canceled compensation for replenishing a subscriber's account through third-party services and now takes a commission of 1.142% of the payment amount. Free replenishment remained through MTS services, as well as through the fast payment system, MTS will introduce new conditions from January 10.
“We are changing prices due to rising equipment costs,” admits the Megafon operator, the message from which the publication cites. The price increase will take place from January 17 and will affect most of the company's tariffs. For example, the cost of a tariff for 325 rubles will increase by 32.5 and will amount to 357.5 rubles per month, owners of tariffs worth 540 rubles per month will have to fork out an additional 55 rubles from the new year. Tele2 has about the same changes in the tariff plan. A subscriber with a tariff costing 500 rubles per month from the new year will have to pay 60 rubles more.
“The external situation has affected the equipment supply chains that have been built over the years. In order to prevent the degradation of the quality of services, we focus on maintaining the health of networks and finding alternative technical solutions. Due to the increase in infrastructure maintenance costs, Tele2 is forced to slightly increase the cost of services, ”a Tele2 representative explained the rise in tariffs.
Similar explanations were provided to the publication by a representative of MegaFon. The increase in the cost of tariffs is carried out within the framework of inflation, which by the end of the year will be 12-13%, therefore, neither the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) nor the Ministry of Digital Development have any fundamental objections. However, MegaFon risks violating the procedure for notifying the FAS on this issue - it is necessary to notify the antimonopoly authority of an increase in tariffs at least two weeks before the increase. “If signs of violation of the antimonopoly law are found in the actions of the telecom operator, the FAS will take antimonopoly response measures,” the agency representative promises.
TelecomDaily CEO Denis Kuskov notes that the war, Western sanctions and the exodus of foreign companies from the Russian market have increased the costs of operators for maintenance and support of networks by about 25-30%. At the same time, next year we can expect another clarification of tariffs, as noted by experts interviewed by the publication, such a practice is the normal behavior of operators that adapt to new conditions and competitors.
In the summer, operators have already increased indirect and direct costs of subscribers due to the shortage of SIM cards, the import of which had to be urgently reorganized from the European to the Chinese market.