The Russians were warned about the rise in price of cellular communications in 2023

MOSCOW, 23 Oct – PRIME. Tariffs for cellular communication in 2023 may grow within the current inflation. Specific figures will depend on how political events develop, a professor at the basic department of trade policy at the Russian University of Economics named after V.I. G.V. Plekhanov Vyacheslav Cheglov.

A very small number of large operators remain on the market now. They will strive to “maintain marginality” and develop at the expense of existing customers, since attracting investors from abroad is complicated, he believes.

In Russia, the market is divided among four large operators. These are Megafon, MTS, Vimpelcom and Rostelecom. In most cities of the country, the cellular communication infrastructure has already been created, but the development of rural areas, moving inland requires new equipment, mainly imported.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the owners of three companies fell under Western sanctions. In addition, the supply of imported equipment fell under the sanctions as a dual-use product, the companies will increase the cost of expanding the network. “The risks of parallel imports will increase, as will the cost of the equipment itself,” the economist said.

“The FAS is monitoring retail price fluctuations here, since cellular communication is a socially important infrastructure,” Cheglov added.