PRESS: Traffic prices likely to rise soon after decreasing in 2018

MOSCOW, Dec 26 (PRIME) -- Russia has stayed on the list of top 10 countries with the lowest price of the mobile Internet in 2018 with an average price of 1 GB of traffic at 55.5 rubles in December as compared to 65.2 rubles in May, business daily Kommersant reported on Wednesday, referring to researcher Content Review.

“With a decrease of a price of 1 GB, consumption of the service spikes, and, as a consequence, incomes of operators rise along with the expenses of subscribers,” Content Review Director Sergei Polovnikov said.

The falling trend could change in 2019 as the operators will have to compensate expenses on a higher value-added tax and the data retention law, he said.

The world’s average price of the mobile Internet amounted to 269.3 rubles per 1 GB in December as compared to 280.49 rubles in May, the experts said.

Russia was the eighth on the list. The mobile Internet is the cheapest in Romania, where clients pay 9.2 rubles; in Poland they pay 22.8 rubles; and in India 23.9 rubles. Traffic costs of 659.8 rubles are the highest in South Korea; in the United Arab Emirates they amount to 769.2 rubles; in Canada to 1,137.1 rubles; and in Switzerland to 1,179.7 rubles.

Content Review analyzed tariffs of 136 operators in 50 countries.

(68.7448 rubles – U.S. $1)

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