Digital ministry says mobile connection needs no state regulation

MOSCOW, Jul 11 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Digital Development Ministry does not think tariffs for mobile connection needs state regulation, and the price of such services in the country are among the lowest in the world, the ministry’s spokeswoman Yekaterina Osadchaya said late on Tuesday.

“Mobile connection in Russia is traditionally private. Thanks to this economic model and measures to develop competition, Russia currently has one of the lowest tariffs for mobile connection in the world, and according to the World Bank, Russia is on the second place by this indicator. Mobile connection in Russia has a high level of availability despite the fact that the country has the largest territory in the world,” Osadchaya said.

“This is why mobile connection tariffs do not need regulation, and this could entail negative consequences. The established tariff ecosystem has been built and adjusted for tens of years, and people now have decent and high-quality mobile connection on the whole territory of Russia.”

Earlier on Tuesday, A Just Russia political party said that it was going to draft a bill on state regulation of mobile connection tariffs.

A spokesperson for MegaFon, one of the country’s biggest mobile operators, said the initiative is dangerous and could slow down introduction of new technologies.

The experience of the recent 10 years has shown that the country’s mobile connection market has free competition, which forced operators to reduce prices of services.

“Prices of regulated tariffs and services tend to grow. Regulation of costs of connection services is dangerous for the industry and could undermine competition and restrict introduction of new technologies,” the MegaFon spokesperson said.

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