Roaming in Russia MTS. Profitable roaming options

The four largest operators in Russia and the Federal Antimonopoly Service have come to a common compromise on whether or not to cancel roaming in 2018. Soon Russian subscribers will no longer pay for this service. The reason for this decision was the decree signed by the president and the national plan No. 618 of December 21, 2017, approved in accordance with it, aimed at eliminating the unreasoned difference in tariffs for mobile services when subscribers leave the home network.

On December 19, 2018, the State Duma adopted in the final 3rd reading the law on roaming developed by A Just Russia, which established uniform conditions for subscribers of cellular networks of the Russian Federation, regardless of the region.

Back in 2018, the Federal Antimonopoly Service gave the Big Four operators a directive to prepare for the abolition of roaming in Russia. Three service providers, VimpelCom, MegaFon, MTS and Tele2, have deadlines for carrying out the necessary technical work.

According to the signed document, the new rules should come into force on 06/01/19.

The goal of canceling roaming in Russia in order to reduce unreasonably high prices was set by the antimonopoly service last year. But due to the scale of the work, it was not possible to implement it by the end of December 2018. Most likely, the problem will be solved only by the middle of 2019. There are no grounds for charging additional charges for calls from one region to another when the subscriber leaves the home network. The coverage of the largest Russian operators covers almost the entire territory of the country (with the exception of Crimea). On the peninsula, communications are provided by their regional companies, whose activities are regulated by relevant agreements.

The FAS plans to monitor the process of refusing to pay for services for subscribers that involve the use of resources from different networks. In case of non-compliance with the instructions, the organization has the right to initiate cases on violation of clause 6, part 1, article 10 of the law “On Protection of Competition” that has come into force and initiate the seizure of income earned illegally.

In his speech, the head of the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation N. Nikiforov assumed that already in the 2nd half of 2018 there would be no global issues regarding roaming in Russia. But, in practice, the process may take at least another 6 months (until the beginning of summer 2019).

Actions of the "big four" operators

According to experts, the leading operators began to prepare in advance for the possible cancellation of roaming. Despite the requirements of the antimonopoly service for the even distribution of all additional payments for the service, they began to systematically raise tariffs. For comparison: prices for services increased by 1.5 times compared to 2016.

Regarding the implementation of the instructions to cancel roaming on the territory of Russia in 2018, the actions of the Big Four can be observed today:

• Beeline (Vimpelcom) started the process of stabilizing tariffs in national roaming in December 2017.
• Megafon plans to cancel intranet roaming in the coming weeks.
• "MTS" officially announced the reduction of tariffs for subscribers during trips across Russia, including for the period of stay in the territory of the Crimea.
• Tele2 at first took a wait-and-see attitude, but under the threat of punitive measures from the FAS, it moved to take active steps to abolish roaming.

So far, not all companies have fully complied with the intranet roaming cancellation directive. No matter how the operators resist, by May 2019 they will have to finally revise their tariffs and regulate the billing system.

According to I. Artemyev, head of the FAS RF, the agency is actively figuring out “who, why and how” and is ready to use its entire arsenal in the implementation of the national plan.

As for the territory of the Crimean peninsula, at the moment there is intra-network national roaming. At the same time, Russian telecom operators operate on the territory of the peninsula, but due to the fear of falling under international sanctions, subscriber services are provided without the participation of the Big Four.

There is no reason to fear that the refusal of roaming will provoke another wave of tariff increases in other sectors in 2018-2019. The balance of interests of subscribers and communication companies will be maintained due to additional traffic growth. According to I. Artemiev, this will be implemented by removing barriers for cellular companies and building a new model that provides for non-discriminatory access to residential buildings.

The new bill quite clearly outlined the time frame for all operators in Russia. Sergei Mironov focused on the fact that the government had been waiting for more than a year for active actions from companies providing cellular communication services in the territory of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. We offer you to look at the video, what promises he made not so long ago:

Now the law has been passed and, whatever the opinion of the Big Four companies themselves, they will have to comply with it from June 1, 2019.

July 1 is a transitional date for Russian mobile operators. Theoretically, at the request of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, by this date they are obliged to “waive” the roaming charges in Russia.

For domestic users, there are always pitfalls that PROturizm will try to discover in its review of mobile services when traveling in Russia.

According to the new rules, moving from place to place within our state, the owner mobile phone remains, so to speak, “without roaming” with the usual spending on cellular communications and the Internet. Not everything is transparent with Russian mobile operators both with the Internet and with voice communications.

Not roaming, so incoming

For example, Beeline and Megafon in roaming have an exotic for today's youth payment for incoming calls that has long sunk into oblivion.

True, not local, but intercity. What calls are considered local? All calls to numbers in the region where the user is located. With the rest of mobile and landline phones in Russia, communication becomes long-distance.

Perhaps we can share outgoing calls to local and international ones. What about incoming? How can you find out where you are calling from? We asked this question to the technical support of one of the cellular tour operators. The answer was expected: NO.

Let's check the cancellation of roaming for the big four: MTS, MegaFon, Beeline and Tele2.

Let's start with Megafon. On the tariffs of the "Turn On" line, he set uniform conditions for the user, whether he is at home or on a trip around the country. Packages of minutes and megabytes of the Internet will be consumed in the same way as in the home region.

On other tariffs for traveling within Russia, roaming remains and you need to connect additional options.

It is reported that the charge for incoming calls has been cancelled. But only for calls from the local region. If your tariff does not include a package of minutes for long-distance calls, the cost of one minute of an incoming call is 5 rubles.

Beeline notified its subscribers about paid incoming calls while roaming back in March. For "indefinable" long-distance calls, the operator's subscribers will also have to pay 5 rubles. in a minute.

MTS subscribers on trips across Russia will also pay for long-distance incoming calls in excess of their main tariff plan. They will take even a little more - 5.5 rubles. in a minute.

The service "Home package Russia +" will help you avoid spending for incoming calls from another region. After several lawsuits in the Federal Antimonopoly Service from disgruntled summer residents whose summer homes were located in neighboring regions, the operator introduced this feature for subscribers of six tariff plans(Smart type). The cost of the service per month is 100 rubles. For this amount, all incoming for you will be free. (Price may vary in some cities).

The cunning "Tele2" offers its service for free incoming long-distance calls. Now in roaming, all incoming and outgoing calls for the operator's subscribers, regardless of the region, cost 5 rubles. in a minute. (Outgoing SMS and MMS within Russia - 3.5 rubles, incoming SMS and MMS - free of charge).

The service "Everywhere zero" for 3 rubles. per day “resets” the cost of all incoming calls. But outgoing calls remain charged. For all of Russia: 2 rubles. per minute of a call and 2.5 rubles. for the message. Here is such a trick.

What output remains at the simple user? Don't pick up the phone? Only use the internet? But even here, Russian subscribers should be careful.

Internet secret for no-roaming

The site of the operator "MTS" presents services for the Internet, supposedly operating throughout Russia. But it was not there! It turns out that for the use of these packages in roaming in Russia, 50 rubles per day will be debited from you daily.

For travelers in Russia, we will make a short review of tariffs that include the Internet.

The Tele2 operator is the first to provide its users with the same billing of Internet services throughout Russia without additional options.

Tele2 tariff without a subscription fee: for every 10 Mb of Internet - 15 rubles.

Tariff with a monthly fee of 10 rubles. per day includes 10 GB of internet. (Bonus - unlimited calls to Tele2 numbers in Russia).

The Megafon operator for roaming in Russia offers several additional paid options in order to “leave” the tariff prices as in the home region. Otherwise, you will have to pay 10 rubles in roaming. for every megabyte.

The cost of connecting options is from 0 to 30 rubles.

• Internet and calls - with an additional subscription fee of 15 rubles per day in addition to the basic tariff.
• Only calls and SMS - with an additional subscription fee of 5 rubles per day. Outgoing calls / SMS within Russia - 3 rubles. In this case, incoming calls are free.
• Internet only - depending on the tariff, additional subscription fee - 12 rubles. day.

Beeline Internet tariffs are not sold without calls. Even designing a tariff, you will not be able to exchange all minutes for gigabytes. Under the tariff with a fee of 13.33 rubles per day, you will receive a maximum of 6 GB of Internet and 200 minutes of calls, without SMS. Internet at Beeline - without roaming in Russia, we mentioned calls above.

Finally, let's throw one more sourness into the bowl of mobile communications in Russia. According to the Yarovaya law, telecom operators will have to store subscribers' conversations for 6 months. Therefore, the payment for information storage centers and additional equipment will be transferred to the shoulders of their customers. Wait for the rate increase!

Mobile operators of the "big three" announced the abolition of fees for incoming calls in roaming within Russia. These events are carried out within the framework of last year's order of the Federal Antimonopoly Service () of Russia, which required operators to reduce and equalize communication tariffs when traveling around the country.

The first to cancel fees for incoming calls from other regions was announced (Beeline brand). This information was confirmed to Gazeta.Ru by the company's press secretary.

Previously, Beeline subscribers on "junior" tariffs paid for a long-distance incoming call at 5 rubles per minute. Starting from August 20, all incoming calls for all subscribers will be free, regardless of the tariff plan and billing system.

“Since April, all our subscribers, when traveling outside their region in Russia, have been calling, sending SMS and using mobile internet like at home. This allowed many customers to reduce communication costs by several times. Next important step: we cancel the fee for any incoming calls while traveling in Russia in the Beeline network. Thus, taking into account the wishes of our subscribers and listening to the opinion of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, we have finally formed simple and understandable conditions for charging “like at home” any services throughout Russia in the Beeline network,” commented the innovation, Executive Vice President for Marketing and Brand PJSC "VimpelCom" .

The abolition of incoming fees was announced by and.

“MTS has carried out all the necessary preparatory work and in the near future incoming calls while traveling around the country will become free for our subscribers. When moving around Russia, MTS subscribers will be able to use tariffs as in their home region,” the MTS press service said. A spokesman for the press service did not specify when exactly the changes will come into force.

“The cost of incoming calls from all regions when traveling around Russia is reset for most subscribers until the end of August, for the rest - in the first half of September,” the press service told Gazeta.Ru.

The press secretary explained to the correspondent of Gazeta.Ru that the company's clients "have long been using communication on trains in Russia, as in their home region," and roaming has already been canceled on most Tele2 tariffs. She added that the deadline for the abolition of intra-network roaming was extended by the FAS until August 31.

“Before this date, we will complete all measures to cancel intra-network roaming,” Galushina concluded.

Not canceled yet

In June 2017, the head of the FAS for the first time announced the preparation of documents for the removal of the concept of roaming within the country from the legislation.

First warning from the Federal Antimonopoly Service mobile operators received in July 2017. Then the FAS, in the course of its investigation, discovered unfairly inflated prices for roaming communications and demanded that the difference in tariffs be eliminated within two weeks.

The Antimonopoly Service decided that the price offers of mobile operators and the conditions for the provision of services are "neither economically nor technologically justified", and issued an order to equalize tariffs in the home region and other regions of the country.

At the end of 2017, the former Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications expressed confidence that intranet roaming would be completely abolished in 2018, noting that mobile operators were already taking the necessary measures.

On July 10, 2018, in the first reading, it adopted a bill on the abolition of national and intranet roaming in the country. As one of the authors of the document noted, the difference in tariffs, which vary depending on the regions, is archaic. In addition, the presence of roaming makes communication less accessible to citizens, and the only ones who benefit from it are the mobile operators themselves.

The parliamentarians stated that the abolition of intra-network roaming would contribute to the development of the communications market.

On the territory of Russia in the MTS network, communication services are provided to subscribers in full, if there is a positive balance on the account. Accordingly, when going on a trip to another region of our country, you do not need to activate roaming. However, in order to significantly reduce communication costs while traveling in Russia, you can activate some services. This will allow you to communicate with friends and family and access the Internet without restrictions throughout Russia.

Recently it became known that MTS canceled roaming in Russia. Now subscribers will be able to receive incoming calls from any region of Russia free of charge, and pay for outgoing calls at the price of their home region. These changes have affected all tariffs so far.

What is free when traveling in Russia?

MTS cares about the comfort of its customers while traveling and helps to make the trip more relaxed, thanks to useful services. During your trip, you can:

• Incoming calls - free of charge throughout Russia (if you are in the MTS network);
• Mobile Internet - throughout Russia at home;
• Outgoing calls in the region of stay - regardless of the region where you are located, they are at home throughout Russia;
  outgoing long-distance calls - throughout Russia cost the same - 5.5 rubles / min.
• Make a call to the MTS Contact Center. If the subscriber needs to contact the operator, he can do this at any time. It is enough to dial the number 0890.
• Find out how to save. By dialing the command *111*33# on your phone, you can go to the roaming portal and find out about great deals.
• Connect the service "Rescue". To call and send messages to MTS subscribers at their expense, you need to dial *880#.

Profitable options for calls while traveling in Russia

Many subscribers are interested in what to connect in MTS roaming so that they can stay in touch with loved ones. To make calls without additional costs, the company offers to connect one of the options for roaming.

Roaming option Home package Russia MTS (daily payment)

Smart subscribers who have activated this option spend their package of minutes and SMS on numbers of other operators in their home region. This means that if you came to Tver from Moscow, then calls from Tver to Moscow (home) will now be long-distance, and minutes will be spent from your package. And if you do not activate the service, then the cost of a minute of intercity for operators other than MTS is 14 rubles per minute.

A fee of 10 rubles is charged once a day, provided that the client sends messages or calls.

Connection and disconnection of the service is made through the command *111*743# .

Option Home package Russia plus MTS (monthly payment)

If the subscriber wants to save money and receive a package of calls and SMS to the numbers of all operators in Russia, which can be used when traveling around Russia, then it is better to connect the "Russia Home Package" + MTS. The service costs 100 rubles per month, the fee is charged at the time of activation. This means that if you came to Tver from Moscow, then calls from Tver to any other city will now be long-distance, and minutes will be spent from your package. And if you do not activate the service, then the cost of a minute of intercity for operators other than MTS is 14 rubles per minute.

The service can be activated only on the tariffs "My Unlimited", "Tariff", "X", "Smart Unlimited", "Smart", "Smart nonstop", "Smart mini", "Smart light"

Connect the service

Adding and deleting a service can be done by dialing *111*128# .

Service Everywhere at home Russia MTS

To make calls while traveling in Russia at a favorable cost - 3 rubles per minute to any numbers in your home region - you can activate the option "Everywhere at home in Russia". The cost of the service is 5 rubles per day.

The service cannot be activated on the tariffs: "My Unlimited", "Tariff", "X", "Smart Unlimited", "Smart", "Smart nonstop", "Smart mini", "Smart light", "Smart Top", "Ultra ", "Smart+"

You can add an option to your tariff and “cancel” roaming in Russia MTS 2018 through by sending an SMS with the numbers 528 to number 111 or by dialing the combination *111*528#.

Options for "profitable" Internet when traveling in Russia

Various options will also help to optimize the costs of data transfer in roaming. By connecting one of them, an MTS subscriber will be able to access the Internet even outside the home region, and at the same time not spend a lot of money.

Super Beat

Many MTS customers have heard about this option, and prefer to connect it when roaming. According to the terms, a subscriber is provided with 3 GB of Internet traffic for free per month. After they are exhausted, additional packages of 500 MB are “turned on”. The cost of one package is 75 rubles. If necessary, you can refuse additional MB and use the "Turbo - buttons".

The cost of the option is 350 rubles / month. *111*628# is a command to activate the service on your number.

MTS mini

Subscribers of all tariff plans have access to the "Internet-Mini" option, which is valid on the territory of Russia. It allows you to access the Internet even outside your home region. In a month, an MTS client receives 7 GB of Internet traffic for 500 rubles.

To activate the service, enter the command *111*160# .

MTS maxi

"Internet-Maxi" is an option for those who like to spend time on the Internet, but at the same time want to save money. As part of the service, the subscriber for a monthly fee of 800 rubles. 15 GB is provided during the day and unlimited at night. You can activate the option by dialing *111*161#

MTS VIP

MTS customers who are not used to limiting their time on the Internet will like the Internet VIP option, which offers 30 GB of traffic during the day and unlimited at night. The monthly service fee of 1200 rubles is debited at the time of connection. You can add an option to your number by dialing *111*166# .

Options "Internet-Maxi" and "Internet-VIP" also provide a discount on MTS TV. In the first case, customers receive a 30% discount, in the second - 50%.

It is possible to reduce your communication costs in MTS roaming in Russia thanks to the options offered by the mobile operator to its customers. Considering your needs, you can connect services that will help you make calls or access the Internet at a bargain price. The main thing is to take care of connecting the appropriate option in advance.