MOSCOW, March 29 Russia will cancel international cellular roaming with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) members Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia by 2025, writes the Vedomosti newspaper with reference to the annex to the request of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), sent to all major mobile operators of the allied states and the Russian Ministry of Economic Development.
«Russia will cancel international cellular roaming with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) members Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia by 2025,» the newspaper reports, citing a March 16 document.
It is noted that the authenticity of this paper was confirmed by sources in two Big Four operators. Vedomosti sent inquiries to the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia and the EEC.
It is clarified that earlier the EEC requested information on fair tariffs for cellular services in international roaming. In the letter, the commission asks, by April 14, to provide data on the number of subscribers, the volume and cost of cellular services provided to subscribers of the EAEU member states from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022, as well as information on income received.
In addition, a roadmap for the abolition of roaming on the territory of the EAEU was attached to the request. According to it, operators, after carrying out analytical work, should begin measures to prevent fraud on their networks. By the end of 2024, TV companies are required to develop «rules for the use of fair tariffs for communication services on the territory of the Member States», and by the first quarter of 2025, operators must reduce international interconnect rates and introduce appropriate tariffs for cellular services for subscribers of the EAEU states.
According to Vedomosti, now 1 megabyte of Internet traffic in Armenia costs 25 rubles from Tele2 operator, all incoming calls and outgoing calls to all numbers in Russia, as well as within Armenia — 22 rubles per minute, to other countries — 39 rubles per minute. Megafon has package rates in the CIS countries — 10 gigabytes of traffic and 100 outgoing minutes for 999 rubles. Incoming calls in Armenia in MTS roaming cost 1.23 rubles per minute, within the country — 2.86 rubles per minute, calls to other countries — 7.49 rubles per minute.