PRESS: VimpelCom to raise payments on old tariffs from Wed

MOSCOW, Jul 11 (PRIME) -- Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, widely known under the Beeline brand, has notified subscribers of a hike in tariffs from Wednesday, business daily Vedomosti reported on Tuesday, citing Twitter comments of VimpelCom’s clients.

The operator’s spokeswoman Anna Aybasheva said that prices will change insignificantly and for a small part of old bundle tariffs. One of its subscribers said, however, that he received the notification, but his tariff dates from 2016 only.

Subscribers are switched to the bundle tariffs appeared in May, when payment for Moscow clients rose 10–40%. Internet traffic also grew in most of the tariffs.

VimpelCom started raising tariffs after its revenue fell 0.4% in 2016. In January–March, megabytes of use (MBOU) spiked 34% on the year, throughout the whole base, including old tariffs, as Aybasheva said. The bulk of users of old tariffs lack Internet traffic, and the level of their satisfaction is lower, that is why the operator carries them to tariffs with more traffic, she said.

TMT Consulting’s General Director Konstantin Ankilov said that operators had not raised old tariffs before, but operators’ expenses grow, and an increase in prices is unavoidable in view of using advanced mobile networks.

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