MTS (MOEX: MTSS) plans to increase a number of tariffs by 10-12% from the end of September. The reason for the increase in price is the cost of improving infrastructure due to increased traffic. At the same time, according to the results of the first half of the year, the operator’s capital costs decreased by 7% to 37.4 billion rubles. Analysts state that all operators have increased prices. The publication writes that the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has already drawn attention to this situation and last year imposed a fine on MTS and Megafon, obliging them to return taxes to the previous level.Kommersant“
From SMS notifications received from MTS, it appears that starting from September 28, prices on the two tariffs will increase by approximately 12%. MTS representatives announced that the monthly subscription fee will change for some archived tariffs, but the change will be less than 10%. They emphasized that the prices are still advantageous because the subscription fees of some archive tariffs have not changed for several years.
The increase in prices at MTS is explained by the increase in equipment maintenance costs and the need to invest in the expansion and modernization of networks due to increased traffic.
Other operators are also revising their tariffs. For example, virtual operator Yota, operating on the Megafon network, is closing some archived tariffs as of September 22. They state that the changes are technical and not related to price increases.
Megafon and VimpelCom also informed some customers that they would increase tariffs by up to 20% in March. Representatives of these companies stated that the price increase was carried out within economically justified parameters and the information was submitted to the Ministry of Digital Development and the Federal Antimonopoly Service. In the near future, Megafon does not plan to revise the cost of tariffs for existing customers.
Maksut Shadayev, head of the Ministry of Digital Development, noted that any increase in tariffs must be justified and protected by investment spending.
FAS promises to analyze the situation and request information about price increases from the operator. In case of violation of anti-monopoly legislation, intervention measures will be taken. Last year, the FAS punished MTS and Megafon for unfair price increases and ordered them to return to their previous levels.
Previously Mishustin in the name Avoid excessive optimism.