Analyst: Connection operators may hike tariffs later, not sooner

MOSCOW, Apr 17 (PRIME) -- Russian connection operators would unlikely hike tariffs soon but they will have to do it in the future to compensate rising costs, investment company Renaissance Capital telecom analyst Alexander Vengranovich said on Friday at an online news briefing.

Connection operators may be forced to revise tariffs up gradually “if there is a rise of capital expenditures, especially regulatory, related to the data retention law, for example, or provision of free access (to the Internet),” Vengranovich said.

“So far, I think the operators will try not to raise tariffs, which may be taken negatively by the users, clients, and regulators as the country is in a complicated economic situation. The operators should demonstrate certain social responsibility, and they won’t hike tariffs. In fact, they confirm it is not on the agenda now.”

Mobile firms could agree with the regulator to raise prices to offset a shortfall in incomes or growth of capital expenditures, the analyst said.

The country’s leading mobile operators – MTS, MegaFon, VimpelCom, and T2 RTK Holding – raised some of their old tariffs in January.

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