Mobile freedom: a decree on the abolition of intranet roaming in Russia was signed

From June 1, 2019, national roaming is officially canceled throughout Russia. The corresponding decree on Monday, May 27, was signed by the head of the Cabinet Dmitry Medvedev. He spoke about this during a meeting with the deputy prime ministers.

“I signed the decree, it is a development of what has been done before in the legislation, namely, it establishes in the rules for the provision of telephone services the cancellation of intranet roaming. This is the final solution to the issue, the point in solving this issue is already at the level of a subordinate regulatory act - an act of the government, ”Medvedev said.

"Domestic roaming in Russia is canceled from June 1 ... The legislation also fixes free incoming calls throughout the Russian Federation, including Crimea," the premier added.

The new regulations will be included in the Rules for the provision of telephone services, although, according to Medvedev, cellular operators have actually moved to new standards of work.

The State Duma adopted the relevant amendments to the Law on Communication back in December 2018, after which the Federation Council approved the document and was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking at today's meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Maximov Akimov, who is responsible for communication and digitalization of the economy, noted that starting June 1, the fee for incoming calls will be reset even in those territories where not all-Russian operators work, but local telecom operators.

“In particular, in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, the fee for incoming calls is also reset. This will significantly increase the attractiveness and will contribute to the growth of the flow, ”said Akimov.

He also noted that on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the work on the phased cancellation of roaming between the countries included in the union - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia - was intensified.

“This is, of course, a long process. First of all, we care about the quality of the service and, of course, that the interests of Russian mobile operators are not affected. The first step on this path will be the adoption of an agreement on the creation of a single tariff space for call termination services, ”said the Deputy Prime Minister.

According to him, the draft of this document has already been submitted by the Russian side and is being worked out at the site of the Eurasian Economic Commission. The agreement and signing of this measure will be an important milestone in the economic integration of the countries of the Union.

• Cabinet Head Meeting with Deputy Prime Ministers
• © Government of the Russian Federation

“People shouldn’t think about write-offs”

According to Denis Kuskov, director general of TelecomDaily information and analytical agency, mobile operators have already taken all the necessary steps so that their users, moving through the territory of the Russian Federation, can use the package of their home region.

“This is a good message. Despite the vast expanses of our country, people should move in accordance with the fact that this is one country and not think about the amount of write-off, ”the expert stressed.

Speaking about the possible cancellation of roaming in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union, the RT interlocutor noted that this issue poses certain tasks for the authorities of the member states of the association that have yet to be accomplished.

“In order to do this, it is necessary to bring the legislative acts of all countries belonging to this union to uniformity, and then, too, maybe there will be a common cellular area in the EEU,” added Kuskov.

In turn, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, Andrei Svintsov, in a conversation with RT, “absolutely positively” evaluated this initiative.

“We are interested in maximum mobility of our citizens, our friends and neighbors ... so that no one overpays for cellular communication. We are interested in the development of our Eurasian space as actively as possible, as few as possible barriers and abuses. It all works for all of us in the plus - and the Russian economy, and the economy of our partners, ”said the parliamentarian.