FAS initiated a case against Megafon for increasing communication rates

It should be noted that in 2023 the operator increased rates for more than 8.2 million subscribers by an average of 10.24%, justifying it by the increase in costs.

“At the same time, data from the financial statements of Megafon PJSC indicate a significant reduction in the company’s expenses and an increase in net profit,” the FAS said in a statement.

If Megafon is found to be at fault, the company will be fined.

The press service of the RB.RU company reported that they “have not yet received an official notification from the department.” At the same time, a representative of the company clarified that the department in its public statements talks about an increase in filing fees, which the company carried out in January 2023.

“We then adjusted the cost of a series of filing fees, the prices of which had not changed for four or two years. Its previous cost does not correspond to the current costs of maintenance and modernization of the communications infrastructure, which is why we have adjusted it,” commented Megafon, adding that the accumulated increase in the cost of services for the entire subscriber base in 2023 rose to 2.8%. .

• In December 2022, the FAS already recognized Megafon as an infringer and issued an order to reduce tariffs. So far the department’s order remains unenforced and the company has appealed it in court.
• MegaFon’s revenue in the first half of 2023 according to IFRS amounted to 209.9 billion rubles, a year-on-year increase of 13%. Net profit increased 2.3 times to 26.9 billion rubles.

Previously, the FAS warned the so-called “Big Four” mobile operators about fees for distributing Internet traffic from mobile devices: companies must cancel them. At the same time, some telecom operators called paid tethering a forced measure, with experts linking it to rising infrastructure costs and predicting a rise in tariffs.