The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of the Russian Federation warned the so-called “Big Four” mobile operators about fees for distributing Internet traffic from mobile devices: companies must cancel them.
“MTS, Megafon, Beeline and Tele2 must cancel the fee for distributing Internet traffic from mobile devices within a month and avoid restrictions on such functionality for subscribers,” the antimonopoly service said in a statement.
In case of non-compliance with the warnings, the department threatened to initiate cases of violation of antitrust legislation.
The FAS requested information from telecommunications operators on the collection of fees for the distribution of Internet traffic from mobile devices in August 2023. It is noted that “the company did not provide sufficient economic, technological or other justification for the service” .
- MTS began notifying subscribers about the distribution of paid Internet from their devices in April 2023. It was reported that each time the “hotspot” is turned on, users will have a special Internet package activated for 49 rubles.
- Beeline introduced a fee for this service in 2019. The media reported that the Tele2 operator began to charge 30 rubles per day for turning on an access point with new tariffs. RB.RU previously checked this information and did not find that Tele2 charged money for creating an access point from a smartphone.
- At the end of August, the FAS announced that it would check user complaints about paid Internet distribution.
Author:
Anastasia Marina
Source: RB
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