Expert: Connection services prices to rise 15–16% in 2021

MOSCOW, Jan 15 (PRIME) -- Prices of connection services in Russia will unequally rise 15–16% in 2021 – basic services, including voice calls and data traffic, of the lower price category will be revised less than those of the middle and upper categories, news and research agency Content Review said on Friday in a study.

“Among all the factors impacting revenue of the operators, we should underline the pandemic, which killed revenue from retail and roaming, and an intention of certain officials to introduce wise initiatives in a populist mood when subscribers themselves will pay for the ‘free’, as it was in the past with ‘the abolition of roaming’,” Content Review’s head Sergei Polovnikov said.

“The connection operators are today ones of the few companies getting no financing or compensations from the budget of the Russian Federation, and any new initiatives of law makers and the government will be paid for by subscribers and clients of the operators whether they want it or not.”

The agency sees annual expenses of the operators of fulfilment of legislative initiatives if they are adopted as they are now can exceed 200 billion rubles.

(73.7961 rubles – U.S. $1)

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