Acting CEO of MegaFon Sergey Soldatenkov doubt that in the next 3-5 years, the emergence of free cellular communication in Russia.
“In the short term — 3-5 years — I’m not so sure that this is so,” said Soldatenkov, answering the question “RIA Novosti”, whether he considers a viable model free cellular communication.
In late may, the President of MTS Andrei Dubovskov said that mobile operators should in the near future to stop to charge money for their services from the subscribers, and earn partnerships or advertising. In continuation of this statement in mid-June, MTS announced the first such project, implemented in cooperation with MTS Bank (both organizations owned by AFK “System”). Users Bank card MTS Smart Money” will be free to use services of cellular communication of MTS, provided that per month to pay with credit card purchase in the amount not less than $ 10,000 or will have at the minimum balance (at least 50 000 rubles).
This week, the CEO of Tele2 Sergey Admin said that the Telecom operators of Russia will eventually offer users free mobile connectivity.
“If the caller wants to get a mobile connection free of charge, it will have such an opportunity. Just it will require some action: either it will be an active user of promotional products or discount products of our partners or a user of some financial services. Undoubtedly, this trend will develop,” he said.
According to Edmina, the average monthly cost of Russian cellular subscribers is approximately equal to of the cost of a Cup of coffee at an expensive cafe, so “it can subsidize other products.”
