PRESS: Mobile tariffs can start rising from 2019 on VAT hike

MOSCOW, Dec 17 (PRIME) -- The average price of a minimum bundle tariff for mobile connection in Russia has decreased in recent months, amounting to 255 rubles in December, because of high competition in regions, but prices can grow in 2019 following a value-added tax (VAT) increase, business daily Kommersant reported on Monday.

The average price of a minimum bundle tariff fell 4% in August 2017–April 2018 and 3% in April–December to 255 rubles per month. In Moscow, the indicator has remained flat since April 2018 at 350 rubles.

The decrease in prices of operators resulted from a price war in a number of regions and a return of tariffs with limitless Internet, analysts said.

“The launch of such tariffs forced operators to revise filling of packages, and today it’s hard to find a tariff with less than 2 GB, although a year ago it was a huge traffic quota,” news and analytical agency Content Review Director Sergei Polovnikov told the daily.

In 2019, prices of connection will rise due to an increase of VAT by 2 percentage points to 20% from January 2019, he said.

Analyst of corporate ratings at the Analytical Credit Rating Agency Alexander Gushchin said that the average revenue per use of mobile operators will rise 3.8–4% in 2019, and its main driver will be the necessity of replenishing additional capital and operating expenses on the data retention law.

(66.4337 rubles – U.S. $1)

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