Expert: Russian operators’ intl roaming income can fall 13% in 2016

MOSCOW, Nov 9 (PRIME) -- Incomes of Russian mobile operators from international roaming could shrink 13% in 2016 to 17.3 billion rubles, analytical agency TMT Consulting said late Tuesday in a research.

“In the conditions of low dynamics of the mobile connection market, the processes unfolding in the segment of international roaming have started exerting significant influence on results of work of Russian cell operators. Revenue from international roaming has been decreasing over the last four years with the deepest decline seen in 2015 by 23% to 19.9 billion rubles,” the agency said.

The main reason behind the decrease is a falling flow of outbound tourism, which fell 13% in January–June and could plunge 20–30% for the whole 2016.

Another reason is a changing model of service consumption. “A refusal from traditional voice communication in favor of messengers and social networks cuts voice traffic by 20–30% in comparison to 2015,” the research read.

Internet traffic soars thanks to new tariff options offered by operators and an increasing popularity of mobile data transfer.

“Meanwhile, the growth of natural indicators of mobile Internet consumption does not offset the decrease of voice revenue, because of, among others, a total fall in outbound tourism, which leads to lower incomes from international roaming,” the agency said.

“In the future, a possible increase of roaming prices in Europe following a rise in prime costs of the service for operators will most likely reduce volumes of its consumption and push tourists to start using alternative channels of connection. In such a way, further dynamics of incomes from international roaming will be primarily determined by the macroeconomic situation in the Russian Federation.”

(63.7364 rubles – U.S. $1)

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