Perhaps today only a person who has completely abandoned the outside world, from watching TV and using the Internet, has not heard about the upcoming abolition of roaming in Russia, scheduled for September 1, 2018.

Indeed, the cancellation of roaming awaits us, and this is great news, but this is not the first wave of such “cancellations”, and, as before, the new “coming” has its limitations. And today in this article I will try to understand how the next abolition of roaming will change the approach to setting tariffs and additional services from leading operators cellular communication on Russian territory. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the information that is known today about changes with specific operators.

What is the difference between Intranet and National roaming?

Let's once and for all understand the concepts of Intranet and National roaming:

Within the network it means the ability to make calls to the numbers of one (your) operator in different regions. As for National roaming, here we are talking about calls to any operator numbers in other regions, as well as when traveling around the country.

Cancellation of roaming on MTS

And MTS, as you probably already guessed, advocates an intranet roaming option. However, some proposals will also apply to national roaming.

What should be noted among the innovations that await us in just a few days on September 1? I tried to collect the most basic nuances in the list below:

• From now on, all incoming calls when traveling within the country will be free. Not so long ago, you could only receive calls from numbers in your region for free while traveling;
• Outgoing calls in the host region to phone numbers in the host region will be charged on the same terms as calls to home region.

Let me explain more clearly: if you live in St. Petersburg and decide to visit friends in Moscow for the weekend, for example, while staying in the capital, calls to the numbers of friends and other users from MSC will be charged according to the conditions of staying in the home region, that is, in St. Petersburg. This condition also applies to the quotas included in the tariff - if you have a minute quota for calls in your home region in St. Petersburg, when you travel to friends in the capital, local calls will consume units from this quota;

• Calls to other regions of the country for MTS subscribers will be charged as long-distance calls, even if you call to your hometown, which at the time of traveling around the country will formally be considered intercity. If the tariff you are using has a quota for long-distance calls, then in roaming minutes will be used from it;
• The most interesting thing is the Internet. Traffic throughout the country in the MTS network will be used from the quota available in the tariff or an additionally connected service, and if there are none, it will be paid according to tariff rates in the home region;
• The cost of SMS messages also does not change if you are in the MTS operator network. But let me remind you once again that when traveling, your real home region will be conditionally considered intercity, and messages there will, according to the terms of the TP, cost slightly more.

Cancellation of roaming in MegaFon

We are talking about a page on the official website of the operator, on which each MegaFon subscriber has the opportunity to find out current information about how much calls, messages and the Internet will cost him when traveling around the country. To get up-to-date information, just follow these steps:

1. Follow the link to the “Travel in Russia” page.
2. Find the menu item “Define tariff by number”.
3. Enter your phone number in the found window.
4. Click on the "Get code" button.
5. Read about the conditions under which you can communicate while roaming.

In addition, this page of the operator’s website also contains information regarding those options that today can be used when traveling around the country to reduce communication costs.

Cancellation of roaming from other Russian operators

If we talk about other operators operating in the country, they still have not made official statements regarding the abolition of roaming. And the cancellation, I remind you, will happen in just a few days, on September 1st. Based on this, we can only wait for fresh news, after the publication of which the material will be supplemented.

Let's see what Beeline, Tele2 and other participants in the cellular communications market can offer us, and whether the abolition of roaming this time will really become something truly pleasant for us, for ordinary subscribers.

In December 2017, the "big four" operators mobile communications, yielding to the insistence of the FAS, promised to equalize the cost of calls in the home region and beyond. On January 31, 2018, the deadline allotted to VimpelCom (owner of the Beeline brand), Megafon and MTS to adjust their pricing policy expired, and already in March the FAS opened antimonopoly cases against them, accusing them of high prices for roaming in Russia.

Was roaming within the country canceled or not in 2018? What did the FAS fight lead to, which cellular operators complied with the agency’s requirements, and which ones does it still have complaints about?

Types of roaming in Russia

Roaming is a mode of using cellular communications outside the coverage area of ​​your operator’s network. When there are no towers of the subscriber’s service company in the subscriber’s territory, or the coverage of the partner company is wider, the capacities of another supplier are used to provide mobile communications. In this case, the number is saved. This concept applies to international and national roaming.

In Russia, in addition to the national one, there are two more types of roaming:

• intranet – registration with your own operator outside your home region: the subscriber is charged additional fee for expanding network coverage;
• in Crimea - the existence of this type of roaming is due to geopolitical conditions: Western sanctions introduced after the peninsula joined the Russian Federation in 2014 denied the Big Four (Beeline, Megafon, MTS and Tele2) direct access to the market. Companies provide services through intermediaries, which affects final prices for consumers.

How did FAS achieve the abolition of roaming?

The Federal Antimonopoly Service announced its intention to achieve the elimination of roaming in the country, up to the exclusion of this concept from legislative acts, in November 2016, and applied coercive measures in the following summer:

• On July 14, it issued warnings to the Big Four to eliminate intranet roaming;
• On August 3, it opened cases against each operator for high prices already in national roaming.

FAS threatened to fine violators - the agency has the authority to issue an order to seize unjustifiably received income in favor of the federal budget.

A weighty argument that the FAS has been presenting to operators since December 2017 is Presidential Decree No. 618 “On the main directions of state policy for the development of competition” dated December 21, 2017. The national plan for the development of competition in the Russian Federation until 2020, approved by him, provides for the elimination of unreasonable differences in the cost of mobile communications when Russians travel internally.

Deadlines

When all federal operators cancel roaming in Russia, from what date will unified tariffs for mobile communications be established? After repeated postponements, the FAS determined the final ones:

• January 31, 2018 – for Beeline, Megafon and MTS;
• May 31, 2018 – for Tele2.

The agency demanded a regular report on the measures taken by operators.

In December 2017, after a joint meeting of the regulator, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications and mobile operators It became known that a compromise had been reached: the companies agreed to cancel intranet roaming.

Is intranet roaming canceled in Russia or not in 2018?

The promises of the companies, the assurances of the head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications and the decisive attitude of the antimonopoly agency gave reason to believe that this phenomenon of the Russian cellular market will soon become a thing of the past.

The latest news shows that the antimonopoly service has no complaints about national roaming: on February 15, the head of the FAS, Igor Artemyev, admitted that work in this direction has been carried out.

Meanwhile, checking the reports of mobile operators on intranet roaming led to new antimonopoly investigations: on March 5, 2018, the FAS opened a case against MTS and Megafon, and on March 12, against VimpelCom. The reason is the inflated cost of communication and the introduction of a daily fee for customers leaving their home region.

The operators claim that they have complied with the requirements.

"Megaphone"

The fact that Megafon has canceled roaming in Russia is stated in a message on the company’s website dated December 21, 2017. According to the information, there will be no charge for received calls from local subscribers, and the cost of outgoing calls to numbers in the region of residence will not exceed 2 rubles. The operator did not specify how much other calls would cost. The changes will be implemented in stages.

Until this happens, Megafon subscribers (except for guests of Crimea and Sevastopol, for these regions the operators Special offers) can use the following options:

• "Fell yourself like at your own home". Maintaining home conditions costs 15 rubles per day (subscription fee), you need to pay 30 rubles for connection;
• “All Russia” with free incoming calls, the price per minute of outgoing calls and one sent SMS is 3 rubles. The first connection is free, the second connection costs 30 rubles. Daily subscription fee – 7 rubles.

Since March 12, 2018, Megafon has reduced prices for communication services in Crimea for numbers connected to the “Turn on!”, “Go to Zero” and “Per Second” tariffs. Before reducing the cost of calls at other tariffs, the company offers to connect the “Crimea” option for free under the following conditions: subscription fee - 15 rubles per day, free incoming, outgoing - 4 rubles per minute, SMS - 3 rubles, Internet traffic - 5 rubles per 1 MB

MTS

The MTS operator canceled roaming in Russia in 2018 at tariffs “ Super MTS" and "My Friend" - from March 14, for clients who connect to them, incoming calls from local subscribers are free, outgoing calls are charged at home. Communication with an interlocutor from another region will cost 5.5 rubles - the cost of calls (both incoming and outgoing) per minute. Prices for SMS have also been reduced.

The cost of communication under other MTS tariffs can be checked on the operator’s website in the “Roaming and intercity” section. So, for a Muscovite with a Smart tariff telephone conversations in Kazan will cost:

• incoming calls are free if the call is from a local number, 5.50 rubles per minute for other calls;
• outgoing calls are free for the first 550 minutes, then you will have to pay 2 rubles per minute for calls to local numbers, 5 rubles for other numbers.

"Beeline"

For clients traveling around Russia, Beeline offers the “My Country” option. For incoming and outgoing calls the price is the same - 3 rubles per minute, subscription fee no, but when you connect, 25 rubles will be debited from your account. This service will be useful for those connected to old tariff plans.

In the new Beeline, roaming within Russia has been abolished: in 2018, home conditions to varying degrees are retained in the tariffs of the “Everything” line. The monthly cost of maintenance ranges from 400 to 2,500 rubles. For the cheapest one (“All 1”), only incoming calls will be free in another region.

The most expensive – “All 5” includes:

• free inbox;
• unlimited number of outgoing calls to Beeline numbers;
• 5,000 minutes for calls to all numbers;
• 500 SMS to all numbers.

When will Tele2 cancel roaming in Russia?

This company still has time - the operator’s report satisfied the FAS, and the agency allowed it to adjust tariffs until May 31, 2018.

As of March, the cost of calls, messages and the Internet depends on the territory where the Tele2 client is located.

• up to 1 ruble per minute for all incoming calls;
• up to 3 rubles per outgoing minute;
• up to 3 rubles per one text message.

The tariffs for SMS, Internet traffic and calls abroad are very different from those that apply in the country within the home region. This is due to roaming - the use of cellular communications outside the service area of ​​your mobile operator through the use of foreign network resources. To save money on communicating with loved ones abroad, MTS offers a choice of several profitable services and tariff packages.

general description

The mobile operator has released several types of roaming tariffs, which can be divided into 4 types:

The above types of roaming involve optimizing prices not only for calls, but also for Internet traffic, mms and sms messages. MTS also offers to connect additional options to spend funds from your account more rationally.

How to connect?

Methods for activating roaming are determined by the type of package or service being connected. It should be remembered that to make calls outside their region, MTS users must activate two options:

1. “International and national roaming”;
2. "International access".

You can activate services by sending a system request *111*2192#, settings on your personal page on the MTS website, or visiting the subscriber service center. But in order to make communication in roaming inexpensive, you should connect additional options.

Connecting international roaming

There are several MTS roaming tariffs that allow you to save money on calls and SMS exchanges abroad. Some of the most popular ones include:

• "Zero without borders" - favorable tariff MTS for calls and sending SMS messages while roaming abroad. To connect it, you need to send a request *111*4444# and press the call button;
• "Easy roaming" - good alternative“International access”, which can be used by all MTS subscribers. You can activate the service by requesting *111*2157# and the call button. You can also text “2157” to 111.

Connecting MTS roaming in Russia

You can make inexpensive calls and send messages throughout the country by connecting to such services as:

• “Incoming calls while traveling while roaming in Russia” is an option, the activation of which allows you to receive calls for free. You can activate the service using the ussd command *111*473# or sending sms 473 to 111;
• “Everywhere is like home” - inexpensive calls to all operators for only 3 rubles per minute. To activate roaming, you need to send the message 3333 to number 111; or use the system request *111*3333# ;
• “Everywhere at home Smart” is a favorable tariff that provides free incoming and outgoing calls to MTS numbers in any region for 100 rubles/month. You can connect it using the ussd command *111*1021#.

How do I know if roaming is enabled?

Before using roaming, you need to find out whether the service is activated or not. To do this, you can use the following methods:

1. On the MTS website, go to " Personal Area" and select the "Service Management" section, which will list all connected options by registered phone number;
2. You can clarify the information you are interested in at the technical support center at 88002500890;
3. You can find out about activation of the service in another country by calling +74957660166;
4. You can find out the cost of roaming while abroad using the request *111*33#.

Upon returning home, roaming must be deactivated. The easiest way to do this is using the settings on the MTS website.

Favorable roaming rates

When preparing to travel around the country or abroad, you need to select roaming tariffs from MTS that best meet current requirements and destinations. The correct option will allow:

1. fulfill free calls within the Russian Federation;
2. inexpensively communicate with subscribers within the CIS;
3. reduce the cost of calls to other countries;
4. receive free inboxes;
5. make free outgoing calls;
6. establish an inexpensive Internet connection.

Roaming means communication outside your region. And for those who are not afraid to leave their comfort zone, MTS roaming in Russia 2018 has been developed. Tourists and business travelers, travelers and truck drivers this year will receive reliable mobile communications on the best conditions. At making the right choice You don’t have to connect anything - you just need to install it once and use the phone anywhere.

For trips within Russia, the “Smart” tariffs (with the “All Russia” option enabled, which selects the whole of Russia as the “Home Region”), “Unlimited” and “Nonstop” tariffs are suitable. And the most profitable for calls from any corner of the Russian Federation will be the “Super MTS” tariff with the connected option “Call for free to MTS in Russia 100”. The "Your Country" tariff allows you to make calls to mobile and landline numbers at a single price from any region.

The most favorable MTS tariffs for roaming abroad are developed for Tajikistan, China and the CIS. This is "Your Country" and "Smart Mini" with the connected option " Profitable calls to other countries".

What's free when traveling around Russia

When using MTS while traveling around the country, all incoming messages have become free, and uniform home rates apply for the Internet.

For clients of the "Smart" package who are traveling outside the region in the Russian Federation, the useful options "Home package Russia" and "Home package Russia +" will make tariffs for MTS roaming in Russia more profitable. By taking care of their timely connection, you don’t have to worry that communication with your home will be too expensive.

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On the territory of Russia in the MTS network, communication services are provided to subscribers in full if there is positive balance. 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 when traveling around Russia, you can connect 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 has canceled roaming in Russia. Now subscribers will be able to receive incoming calls from any region of Russia for free, and pay for outgoing calls at the price of their home region. These changes have so far affected all tariffs.

What's free when traveling around Russia?

The MTS company cares about the comfort of its customers when traveling and helps make the trip more relaxing, thanks to useful services. During the trip you can:

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

Advantageous options for calls while traveling around 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 roaming options.

Option for roaming 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 come from Moscow to Tver, then calls from Tver to Moscow (home) will now be long-distance, and minutes will be spent from your package. And if you don’t activate the service, then the cost of a long-distance minute for operators other than MTS is 14 rubles/min.

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

Connection and deactivation of the service is carried out using the command *111*743#.

Option Home package Russia plus MTS (payment per month)

If a subscriber wants to save money and receive a package of calls and SMS to the numbers of all Russian operators, 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 debited at the time of activation. This means that if you come from Moscow to Tver, then calls from Tver to any other city will now be long-distance, and minutes will be spent from your package. And if you don’t activate the service, then the cost of a long-distance minute for operators other than MTS is 14 rubles/min.

The service can be activated only on the tariffs “My Unlimited”, “Tariffishche”, “X”, “Smart Unlimited”, “Smart”, “Smart nonstop”, “Smart mini”, “Smart light”

Connect to 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 around Russia using favorable price– 3 rubles per minute to any numbers in your home region – you can activate the “Russia at home everywhere” option. The cost of the service is 5 rubles per day.

The service cannot be activated on the following tariffs: “My Unlimited”, “Tariffishche”, “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 around Russia

Various options will also help you optimize your data costs while roaming. By connecting one of them, an MTS subscriber will be able to access the Internet even outside their home region, and without spending a lot of money.

Super Bit

3 GB of Internet traffic in Russia

350 rub/month.

Many MTS clients have heard about this option and prefer to connect it when roaming. According to the terms, the subscriber is provided with 3 GB of Internet traffic free of charge per month. After they are exhausted, they “turn on” additional packages 500 MB each. 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

7 GB of Internet traffic in Russia

500 rub/month.

Subscribers of all tariff plans have access to the “Internet-Mini” option, valid in Russia. It allows you to access the Internet even outside your home region. An MTS client receives 7 GB of Internet traffic per month for 500 rubles.

To activate the service you need to enter the command *111*160#.

MTS maxi

15 GB of Internet traffic in Russia

800 rub/month.

“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 pays 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

30 GB of Internet traffic in Russia

1200 rub/month.

MTS customers who are not used to limiting their time on the Internet will like the “Internet-VIP” option, offering 30 GB of traffic during the day and unlimited at night. The monthly service fee of 1,200 rubles is debited at the time of connection. You can add an option to your number by dialing *111*166#.

The “Internet-Maxi” and “Internet-VIP” options also provide a discount on MTS TV. In the first case, clients receive a discount of 30%, in the second – 50%.

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

Relatively young mobile operator Yota communications known not only for its tariffs with unlimited 4G Internet, but also for the pleasant cost of services when traveling around the country - it promises that the price tag for calls and Internet will not change. But there are a number of nuances that Yota subscribers need to take into account when roaming in Russia.

Does Yota have roaming in Russia?

Currently, Iota does not have roaming in Russia. The operator promises to maintain the price tag of the home region when traveling around the country.

IMPORTANT! From May 23, 2019, Yota will completely cancel domestic roaming in a number of regions! From this date, you can stay in a “foreign” region as long as you need and pay for communications as at home!

Previously, a restriction was introduced for only 30 days of home communication. This was due to the fact that in different parts In Russia, the cost of communication services is different; otherwise, unscrupulous subscribers from regions with expensive service would begin to use SIM cards from regions with lower costs.
Now Yota does not have a service for changing the connection region, only if you move to a permanent place of residence in some parts of the country, you will have to change your SIM card or use Yota’s services at the “regional special” tariff. But I still left it, but the conditions are quite democratic.

Yota: how to activate roaming in Russia

No additional ones are required, you can safely put your device (smartphone, tablet or modem) in your bag and go on the road: the connected tariff will continue to operate under the same conditions. Such simplicity is captivating, but this does not mean that you should ignore your connection.

How long could you use a Yota SIM card in Russia without roaming?

First and main point“no roaming” – there is no time limit. Previously, the operator specified a period of at least 30 days.
The fact is that the “regional” tariff was activated only when the last paid one expired, but not earlier than 30 days from the moment the subscriber left his home region.
That is, if a Yota subscriber came to another region, and he paid for a tariff for 30 days and another 17 days remained unused, then after 17 days you can automatically extend your home tariff for another 30 days.
When the home package expired, the operator offered to connect packages within the “regional” tariff. The price tag for this tariff plan is the same for everyone (except for corporate clients) and was valid throughout the country, except for the Crimean Peninsula.

Features of the Iota Internet roaming in Russia

Traffic is provided only as part of your package.
There are also restrictions for a number of regions - within the paid period, 50 MB are available without a transfer speed limit, then the speed drops to 64 Kbps. This applies to some settlements in the Trans-Baikal Territory, the Irkutsk and Magadan Regions, the Kamchatka Territory, the Republics of Buryatia and Yakutia, the Khabarovsk Territory, the Sakhalin Region and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Full list available on the official website.

Roaming in Crimea

Today, the Iota operator still has roaming in Crimea, including the city of Sevastopol. The tariff is activated automatically as soon as you arrive in the K-Telecom coverage area. Let's move straight to the terms of communication.

• Incoming calls - 2.5 rubles/min.
• Calls to Russian regions (except Crimea) - 2.5 rubles/min.
• On the territory of the Republic of Crimea, a call is also 2.5 rubles per minute.
• Call to other countries - 129 rubles/min.
• Outgoing SMS message - 2.5 rubles per piece.
• MMS - 20 rubles/pcs + traffic cost.
• Mobile Internet - 2.5 rubles/MB.

As you can see, the prices are very reasonable, so feel free to pack your suitcase and think only about relaxation! Eta has already taken care of saving money with its roaming in Crimea.

Roaming Yota in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

As we mentioned above, Yota roaming does not exist in Russia, with the exception of the Republic of Crimea and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.

When a client moves to the territory of a given district, services will be provided under the terms of the “Regional Special” tariff.

Any outgoing calls in Russia, with the exception of Crimea and Sevastopol - 9.9 rubles/min. SMS with the same condition - 9.9 rubles per piece.

In terms of the Internet, if you have a connected package, you will have access to 50 MB without a speed limit, after which the speed drops to 64 Kbps.

Tariff "Regional"

Before the cancellation of Yota roaming in Russia, when changing the region, it was possible to subscribe to the “Regional” tariff. On this moment There is no such charging method.

For tablet and smartphone

For the tablet, the operator offered a choice of three packages unlimited internet:

1. Day 100r;
2. Month 800r;
3. Year 6000 rub.

For a smartphone everything was cheaper, but still more expensive than in the home region;

• 200 minutes – 300 rub.
• 500 – 350 rub.
• 800 - 600 rub.
• 2000 – 1000rub
• 5000 – 2500rub

Traffic volume:

• 2 GB – 50r
• 5 GB – 100r
• 10 GB – 180r
• 15 GB – 250 rub.
• 30 GB – 350 rub.

Today, this plan simply does not exist. Its analogue is the Yota “Regional Special” tariff and is valid only in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.

Regional for modem

Since there is no tariff, all conditions for the use and price of the modem remain the same as in the home region.

The only point worth remembering! In the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, you will not be able to use Internet services via a modem.

How to be safe

There is no need to leave the situation to chance; it’s a good idea to find out all the details and current prices in advance. The best option would be to go to the support service chat and clarify in detail: where and from what city the trip is planned, how many minutes, megabytes and days are left until the end of the package, from what date the “regional” tariff will begin to apply. 20 minutes of time can save a lot of time and money when traveling around Russia.