Traffic compliance: FAS is asked to check the roaming tariffs of operators
Mobile operators are actually misleading Russians by calling their international roaming tariffs "unlimited," according to an appeal from public figures to the Federal Antimonopoly Service. The document says that MTS, MegaFon, Beeline and T2 offer travelers to buy unlimited Internet for the duration of their stay in another country, but in fact its effect is limited. After using a certain amount of data, the Internet speed is reduced to the minimum, and in order to return it, you need to pay extra. The applicants ask the FAS to conduct inspections and take response measures. The operators expressed surprise at the claims — they believe that they openly and honestly describe all the conditions of roaming tariffs.
Why unlimited internet has a limit
The FAS is being asked to take action against the four largest mobile operators due to unfair roaming tariffs. MTS, MegaFon, Beeline and T2 offer tariffs with unlimited Internet, which actually has restrictions. Such an appeal to the FAS was sent by the Association of Professional Users of Social Networks and Messengers (APPSIM). Its analysts, together with the Runet publication, conducted a study of the service market based on public data from operators.
"Materials have been identified that use the terms "unlimited Internet", "unlimited", as well as promises of regular or "home" Internet use that are similar in meaning, despite the fact that the volume of traffic at maximum speed is finite, after it is exhausted, the speed decreases to 128-512 Kbit/s, and the restoration of maximum speed in some cases requiresIt requires additional payment," says the appeal to the FAS (Izvestia has it).
The document describes the specifics of the tariffs of each of the operators. For example, MTS provides customers with up to 1 GB, 500 MB or 100 MB of high-speed traffic per day, depending on the country. However, after the exhaustion of this package, the speed decreases, and a separate service "Internet extension abroad" is offered to restore it.
T2 offers subscribers to use "unlimited Internet in international roaming for 0 rubles," the document says. We are talking about 15 free days of the year on a number of tariffs, as well as 22 days in subscriptions. At the same time, the terms state that in 31 countries, 1 GB per day is available at high speed, in Taiwan — 400 MB, in Spain and the Seychelles — 200 MB. After the limit is reached, the speed decreases, and to restore it, you need to buy an additional traffic package.
Megafon, according to the document, has a service called "Unlimited Internet package for a trip." It is valid for up to 30 days and costs 8,999 rubles. However, it also has a limit of up to 50 GB. If they are used up at the beginning of the trip, a significant part of the paid period may pass at a speed unsuitable for watching videos, listening to music, or playing games.
Beeline, as noted in the document, offers unlimited Internet access to businesses. However, in fact, we are talking only about 10 GB per day, after which the speed decreases to 128 Kbit/s, and its restoration requires an additional fee.
— Indeed, such an appeal has been sent to the FAS. We have drawn attention to this problem because it has become a very widespread phenomenon. The regional offices of the FAS have been making comments to the operators for calling these services unlimited, but the situation is not changing," Vladimir Zykov, head of the APPSIM, explained to Izvestia.
According to him, it is obvious that this is a marketing ploy that is used by operators to extract additional profits.
— We are monitoring a large number of user complaints on various Internet sites and we see very serious consumer dissatisfaction, - said the activist.
The initiative is supported by the National Consumer Protection Union.
— This is not about misleading, but about deceiving consumers. According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the contract of sale must be drawn up in such a way as to exclude any misunderstanding, understatement or double interpretation. In other words, the conditions should be announced to consumers exactly the way they will work," Pavel Shapkin, chairman of the association, told Izvestia.
According to him, if roaming involves Internet restrictions, then this should be explicitly stated, it can no longer be called unlimited. The consumer must understand that they will have to pay more to use this service.
— Therefore, the FAS must intervene in this situation. Otherwise, it turns out like this: you buy a plane ticket, and in fact you are being taken by cart to the nearest library. But I would also send a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor with a request to initiate a case under Article 14.7 of the Administrative Code "Consumer deception", since the services do not meet the stated characteristics. It provides for liability for legal entities from 100,000 to 500,000 rubles," the social activist explained.
How business and experts assess the situation
The FAS informed Izvestia that the appeal of the public figures had been received and would be considered in due course. The operators themselves disagree with the claims.
— We have not received a request from the FAS on this issue. The terms of the option have always been openly and unambiguously indicated in its description on the website, including the volume of Internet traffic at maximum speed and the parameters for further access," Beeline's press service explained to Izvestia, noting that they are attentive to the transparency of the terms of service so that customers have all the necessary information to evaluate them.
The company also said that from the end of July 2026, the offer will be provided under the name "Roaming for 1 day, 10 GB." If the FAS applies to the company for explanations, it will be provided with all the necessary information, Beeline clarified.
— We are extremely surprised by the appeal, as T2's roaming policy prioritizes the interests of the client, rather than the business interests of the company. The Unlimited Internet Abroad service is one of the flagship products, has been around for many years and is consistently popular with customers, as it allows them to use the Internet abroad on favorable terms, the company's press service told Izvestia.
They also noted that they do not limit customers in the amount of traffic and openly talk about the parameters of the service in its description and notifications.
— 128 KB of speed is enough to use instant messengers and social networks. At the same time, since the beginning of July and indefinitely, T2 has made the service free in 34 countries of the world — instead of the standard 489 rubles, the company said.
Options with unlimited Internet roaming assume that there is no limit on the amount of traffic used, and all connection parameters are available to subscribers in advance when they connect and are indicated in the detailed description, Megafon noted."
"At the same time, the conditions of some options may provide for changing the data transfer rate after using a certain amount of traffic at maximum speed, which also depends on roaming partners," the company's press service said.
Izvestia also sent a request to MTS.
— Of course, it is impossible to call such tariffs unlimited. I personally recently came across a situation where the speed was significantly limited when downloading 1 GB of Internet," Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily, told Izvestia.
He also noted that, unfortunately, today another problem remains interaction with the telecom operator itself, in case of problems with services abroad. For example, according to him, a number of operators send a notification about the end of a package of services with a long time delay, after the user has been disconnected from the connection. To save money, the expert advises Russians to buy SIM cards from local foreign mobile companies or travel SIM cards.
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