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Roaming Russia: regulator plans more sanctions for on-net roaming charges

The Russian federal competition watchdog FAS plans to continue imposing sanctions on mobile operators that don’t stop charging for on-net roaming services in the second half of this year, reports Tdaily.ru citing Igor Artemyev, the head of the regulator. Find out more about roaming Russia below.
“As soon as the first half of the year is over, a new wave of sanctions will start from our side and actions,” he said, answering the question of how much the agency will wait for the removal of roaming.
Artemiev added that the FAS hopes that the operators will eliminate the violations themselves. “We still have a little time left, we are waiting.” The communications minister was going to hold another meeting with them, “he said.
Recall that in August 2017, FAS ordered the operators of the Big Four to eliminate the difference in tariffs in the home region and when traveling around the country. At the end of 2017, the FAS established that the proposals of Tele2 comply with the warning requirements and extended the deadline for the execution of the operator’s instruction by May 31, 2018 due to the need for technical implementation of tariff changes.
For operators, the deadline was 31 January. Subsequently, the FAS filed antitrust cases against MegaFon, MTS and VimpelCom. The Antimonopoly Service will take decisions on cases against operators on intranet roaming within two or three months, said FAS deputy head Anatoly Golomolzin on April 25.roaming russia

The Overview of the Russian roaming market roaming russia

The Russian roaming market is regulated by the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), which aims to promote competition and prevent anti-competitive behavior among mobile operators. In August 2017, the FAS ordered the operators of the Big Four to eliminate the difference in tariffs in the home region and when traveling around the country.

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The operators were given a deadline of January 31, 2018, to comply with the FAS’s order. However, MegaFon, MTS, and VimpelCom did not comply, leading to the FAS filing antitrust cases against them.

In contrast, Europe has implemented several regulations to eliminate roaming charges for EU citizens traveling within the European Union. The European Union’s “Roam Like at Home” initiative has been in effect since June 2017, allowing EU citizens to use their mobile phone plans without incurring additional roaming charges while traveling within the EU.

In terms of services, Russian operators offer a range of roaming packages, including unlimited data, voice, and SMS for a fixed daily fee. However, these packages can be expensive compared to the roaming rates offered by European operators.

Overall, the Russian roaming market is still in the process of eliminating the differences in tariffs between home regions and when traveling around the country, while Europe has implemented regulations to eliminate roaming charges for EU citizens. Additionally, Russian roaming packages can be expensive compared to European roaming rates.