Tariff mark: mobile operators increase the cost of communication services
Cellular companies have started to raise tariffs. Information about this appeared on the websites of operators and in messages sent to some subscribers. For example, Megafon has been increasing the cost of some tariff plans by 14% since July 26, Beeline has increased prices by 12% since July 1, and VTB Mobile services will also be affected by the changes since July 28. The FAS has already begun to analyze the validity of tariff increases. Experts note that the growth rate of subscription fees has accelerated compared to last year. According to them, operators need additional funds to purchase equipment, including domestic solutions and equipment from foreign manufacturers that have left the Russian market, as well as to modernize the network infrastructure.
How much has mobile communication become more expensive
Izvestia learned about the tariff changes this summer from subscribers who received notifications from their operators, as well as from information posted on the companies' websites. Specialized blogs also report price corrections. For example, Beeline announced a fee increase on July 1: the package of services, which cost 1 thousand rubles, rose in price to 1,12 thousand, that is, by 12%. In his message, the operator explained the rise in prices by rising costs, inflation and a change in the economic situation.
— We update the cost of services taking into account the general economic situation and market dynamics. This is a continuation of the price revision that took place at the beginning of the year. Currently, the changes affect archived tariffs, the connection to which has already been closed. These are largely those whose cost is noticeably lower than the current market level and has not been reviewed for a long time," the Vimpelcom press service told Izvestia.
Megafon, in turn, will increase the cost of services by about 14% starting from July 26. Subscribers received a notification about this via SMS. The cost of one of the tariffs has increased from 550 to 637 rubles.
The company told Izvestia that they are adjusting the terms of payment for services for some users of the archive plans, which have not changed for a long time. The cost is adjusted to the general economic and market situation, they said. This is influenced by a number of factors, including the cost of equipment, the cost of operating and developing the network, the cost of electricity and other resources, they listed. These costs are directly related to ensuring the quality of communications and further development of the telecom infrastructure.
Earlier, Yota (the Megafon brand) also announced their indexation of their tariffs. Since July 18, the monthly fee has increased by about 100 rubles (about 16.5%), said one of the subscribers of the virtual operator. It updates the cost of archived plans to meet market conditions. The user received such a message in his personal account.
"Timely indexing is necessary to maintain a high level of services and the development of our technological products," the appeal says.
Also, starting from July 28, VTB Mobile will change one of the non-packaged tariffs, the industry Telegram channel reported. According to him, one second of conversations will cost 5 kopecks (now one second of a call on this tariff costs 3 kopecks), SMS — 3 rubles (now 2 rubles). The press service of the Izvestia company explained that for the first time in the last six years, the operator has adjusted a number of archive tariffs, including the "Per Second" one. The changes affect less than 1% of the customer base.
— VTB Mobile maintains the tariff level below the market average. As a banking operator, we primarily focus on creating a comprehensive offer for VTB customers," they said.
Daria Kolesnikova, a representative of T2, noted that the operator has not sent out price increase notifications and does not plan to review the cost of tariffs for its customers in the near future.
Izvestia sent a request to MTS.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service is analyzing the economic feasibility of tariff increases and, if there are grounds, will take antitrust response measures, the FAS told Izvestia.
Leonid Konik, a partner at ComNews Research, claims that for the first time in a long time, price competition in the mobile market has seen a shift away from frontal tariff increases. Recently, all operators have more expensive plans with a large volume of included services, but at the same time they have brought cheaper packages with focus sets of services to the market, the expert noted. At the same time, market participants began to offer tariffs with unlimited Internet traffic again, although they had recently eliminated this practice, Leonid Konik drew attention.
— Now MegaFon in Moscow, for example, you can get unlimited Internet and 800 minutes of airtime for 1 thousand rubles per month. And for 800 rubles per month — 10 GB of mobile Internet and 200 minutes of airtime. Beeline asks 400 rubles a month in Moscow for the same 10 GB and 200 minutes. At the same time, the company declared the conversion of tariffs into subscriptions: each package includes additional services (for example, 300 AI tokens and 30 minutes of free calls to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China), while the subscriber can change the volume of basic services at least every month, the expert estimated.
What is the reason for the tariff increase?
The cost of communication services in Russia is one of the lowest in the world, the Ministry of Finance noted. Operators regularly update their plans, and the agency has not received any complaints from subscribers about tariff increases, they say.
— The ministry's position remains unchanged: any cost increase must be justified. The Ministry of Finance, together with the Federal Antimonopoly Service, closely monitors prices for telecom services. If violations regarding tariff setting are suspected, an inspection is promptly carried out," the department said.
The increase in data consumption and the transition to higher speeds require telecom operators to modernize their networks and increase bandwidth, which entails additional costs, the Ministry of Finance said. But at the same time, the interests of subscribers should be taken into account, plans should be flexible and take into account the capabilities of different categories of the population, they believe.
In Russia, not only cellular communications are becoming more expensive, but also other telecom services. So, in the first half of 2026, the cost of home Internet has increased significantly. According to market participants, tariffs have increased by 10-20%, depending on the region, the operator and the calculation method. For comparison, for the whole of 2025, the growth was only 5-7%. Experts attribute the acceleration in the pace of price increases to an increase in the load on fixed networks after mobile Internet restrictions in the spring, as well as an increase in operating costs of Internet service providers.
The trend of increasing the cost of services has affected all players in the large mobile communications market. It is quite difficult to estimate the exact number of subscribers covered by these changes, since operators often make point adjustments to conditions for certain categories of customers, Oleg Yablokov noted. According to his estimates, the increase may affect up to 25% of all subscribers, with the bulk of the changes affecting users of so—called archived or old tariff plans that are no longer available for new connections.
— The reasons for this increase are of a complex economic nature. The main factor is the change in the VAT rate. In addition, operators point to an overall increase in inflation, a significant increase in operating costs, including the cost of purchasing and maintaining equipment, as well as the need for constant investments in the development and modernization of network infrastructure," listed Oleg Yablokov, NTI expert on wireless communications.
An additional burden is created by the increased demand for voice calls after restrictions in the work of foreign messengers, as well as the cost of meeting legal requirements, such as anti-fraud, he added. This year, the growth rate of mobile communication tariffs, if they exceeded last year's, then not much — it is possible to predict an increase of 15-20% for the year as a whole, the expert pointed out.
Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily, on the contrary, claims that tariffs are growing faster this year than in the previous one, when they increased by an average of 10-12%. Operators are in dire need of money, as they have to modernize their networks and maintain the quality of communications at the proper level, he said. The purchase of both Russian and foreign equipment from vendors who left Russia entails significant costs, the expert concluded.
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