The telecommunications services market is constantly changing. Just a few years ago, it was difficult to imagine a tariff plan that combined cellular communications, home Internet and television. However, today mobile operators implement such offers using converged solutions. Beeline has a line of such tariffs - Close People, and MTS introduced the All MTS super tariff, MegaFon has a series of tariffs Unite.
Convergent services are a set of services based on a single subscriber profile. In other words: a package of services implemented using unified network access.
Tariffs "Convergent" MTS - description
The company offers users three tariff plans containing the following services:
- Access to the Internet.
- A television.
- Smart for mobile phone.
- TV equipment rental.
The conditions under which the tariffs are provided are the same, except for the cost. Moreover, the latter depends on the region of residence. Fit is not available in the Chukotka Autonomous Region.
Conditions for providing the tariff:
- unlimited home Internet, but when downloading torrents the speed is significantly reduced;
- 500 MB of mobile traffic every day;
- 300-1200 minutes for calls.
When downloading torrents and using up mobile traffic, the speed drops to 16 KB per second.
MTS "Fit Comfort" tariff
Comfort, true to its name, provides a sufficient number of services for the average user. A detailed description and conditions are presented on the official MTS website and are divided by region. Before registration, it is recommended that you carefully read the information provided. Due to the specifics of the tariff, packages may vary even in different cities of the same region. The number of television channels varies between 133 and 144, the Internet speed is between 50 and 100 megabits per second.
MTS “Fit Prestige” tariff
Prestige is an advanced version of comfort. It is provided under similar conditions, but with a higher subscription fee. In addition, customers can rent an interactive set-top box instead of a regular one, which provides the user with additional services on the network.
Fit square
Square, in contrast to prestige and comfort, is a full-fledged tariff, the packages of which do not depend on the region of residence. Internet access speed at home is 100 Mbit per second, regardless of the time of day. Television is provided via cable. A total of 141 channels are available, including 27 HD and 4 Ultra HD.
Mobile Internet is provided under the terms of the Smart tariff. And subscribers can also rent decoders for TV. Find out the detailed name of the equipment from the operator. The rental cost is 10 rubles per month.
Price
The current prices do not greatly depend on the FIT tariffication (Agency, Comfort, Prestige). The main influence on pricing depends on the region of residence of the client. The highest price is set in Novy Urengoy, where the subscription fee will be 1,740 rubles. The cheapest services will be for residents of Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Here the subscription fee is set at 250 rubles.
Accurate information for other cities should be obtained from hotline operators or on the official website, where the conditions offered in each locality are described in detail.
Tariff plans are not available in Moscow.
FIT tariffs and annual contract
In addition to the above conditions, users are also offered a discount on Convergent tariffs. To receive it, you must enter into a one-year agreement with the operator. According to the contract, the client undertakes to pay for services on time and comply with the terms of use. And you also need to use television, watching it periodically. The operator reduces the monthly tariff fee by 100 rubles.
If the contract is terminated by the subscriber, the latter must pay the difference to the operator. At the end of the annual agreement, a similar one is automatically drawn up, unless the user intends to terminate cooperation. In such a case, you must personally visit the mobile communications office.
Expand the package
Denis Kuskov names the most “convergent” operators as VimpelCom (Beeline brand) and MTS. However, to understand exactly how complex offers are formed in our conditions, Tele-Sputnik also added MegaFon, Rostelecom and ER-Telecom (Dom.ru brand). True, in the latter case, the comparison is not entirely correct, since ER-Telecom’s comprehensive packages cannot be classified as classic Triple Play due to the lack of mobile communications in them, but this operator’s approach to designing tariff plans is purely convergent. Moreover, from 2016 to 2021, ER-Telecom had a full-fledged convergent offer: along with fixed broadband access, it offered a mobile connection to an MVNO (virtual operator) based on the MegaFon network. Nevertheless, ER-Telecom was forced to close the MVNO project, because, as the president of ER-Telecom Holding JSC Andrey Kuzyaev explained, the operator was unable to implement the full MVNO model and thus create a converged product “like MTS”, a success which is recognized at ER-Telecom.
To compare the comprehensive packages of these operators, we chose regional offers for Samara, since this million-plus city with its conditions on the telecom market can be regarded as the most typical for Russia: communication prices here are slightly lower than in Moscow and St. Petersburg, while At the same time, there are a number of regions with lower purchasing power, where prices are even lower than in Samara.
Pros and cons of tariff plans
The tariff conditions include:
- unlimited home internet;
- variety of television channels;
- free tariff for one SIM card;
- cheap rental of decoders for TV;
- using a common account to pay for all services.
It should be noted that the tariff is low in comparison with the packages provided. The opportunity to sign an annual contract and the “Lots of Internet” option are also positive qualities. Among the disadvantages, the low prevalence of the tariff plan stands out.
The Convergence is getting stronger
Experts call convergent packages, which include the widest possible range of telecommunications services under one subscriber contract, the only possible way to maintain existing customer bases against the backdrop of an increase in alternative offers in telecom-related segments, primarily in OTT.
Director of the TV and Content Department at J'son & Partners Consulting Dmitry Kolesov is convinced that this global trend will become larger from year to year. According to him, it is asked by the world's largest operators, such as AT&T (USA), Deutsche Telekom (Germany) and Telefonica (Spain). Russian operators fully follow global trends. They have done a lot of work to offer converged products, but it is not completed yet, says IAA TelecomDaily CEO Denis Kuskov.
Dmitry Kolesov describes the general principle of creating convergent offers this way: a provider that initially made money on a mono-service becomes a supplier of packages that include a wide range of services. A classic example is the operator Sky, which formed a multimillion-dollar satellite TV subscriber base in the UK and subsequently added broadband access to this service, then IPTV television, and then smart home devices, offering the corresponding service. Dmitry Kolesov emphasizes that all operators without exception are developing in the same logic: they are moving from mono-services to a wider list of offers. Based on the practice of European companies, a list of basic services has been developed that providers include in their comprehensive tariff plans. If we take as a starting point the classic subscription to pay television (the most widespread type of telecom services, which appeared long before cellular communications), then at present the pay TV operator, in order to maintain its market position, must expand its product line to include fixed broadband access and mobile communications. Without such a comprehensive offer, the operator has no chance of survival in an increasingly complex competitive environment, Sergei Polovnikov, head of the Content Review portal, is categorical. This forces small operators with mono-offerings to embark on a path of consolidation, most often with large companies, which thus “get” services for their convergent offerings.
Thus, telephone communications (in modern reading - mobile), broadband access and television form convergent packages of Russian operators, which, like their foreign colleagues, have adopted the Triple Play concept.
Comparison of convergent packages of pay TV operators
Connection
MTS subscribers just need to fill out an application in their personal account or contact the office regarding home television and Internet. You must indicate your mobile phone, making sure that the established tariff is suitable for the conditions.
Clients of other operators need to repeat the same steps. The company will provide a SIM card together with a TV and Internet setup specialist. It is not necessary to use it, but the user can visit a mobile communication office and ask to transfer their current phone to MTS.
What is the convergent offer from Rostelecom?
Rostelecom occupies a dominant position in the domestic telecommunications market. Previously, the provider provided convergent offers only in tandem with Tele2, but now Rostelecom offers its own tariff plans.
The convergent solution from Rostelecom allows you to provide television, Internet and cellular communications within one personal account.
For example, the “For entertainment everywhere” tariff includes television channels, movies in Wink, as well as home Internet and cellular communications.
Tariff plan options
Tariff offers will differ in the volume of available Internet traffic for a smartphone, the speed of home Internet access and the list of interactive television channels.
The “Entertainment Everywhere” tariff mentioned above is:
Does not consume the GB of Internet traffic provided by the tariff.
Convergent Rostelecom has the following advantages:
- Availability of a single personal account. Now the client does not need to remember all personal accounts to pay for various services. Rostelecom provides the opportunity to pay using a Unified Personal Account or using a phone number. All information about your tariff is located in your personal account.
- Tariff with static cost.
- Possibility of freezing the package. The subscriber can block the provision of services for 60 days. For the next month you will have to pay 3 rubles per day.
- Payment of the debt is possible until the 25th of the next month.
- 24/7 support for all services covered by the pact. The client does not have to call different service departments.
The client is provided with the mobile program “My Rostelecom” - this is a personal account in which the client can manage services, check the balance, top up the account, participate in promotions and bonus programs.
How to connect
A potential client needs to go to the Rostelecom website, select the convergent tariff plan he is interested in, a list of desired services, fill out an application and wait for the operator to call to appoint an installer. TV, home Internet and mobile communications are connected for a nominal fee of 1 ruble. In addition, you can rent a router or TV set-top box on the site. If the client already has similar equipment, it may have to be upgraded or rented to use Wink.
It will be interesting to know: USSD of Rostelecom team
Additional services
The client can also choose various additional paid services, without taking into account the specifics of the tariff:
- Anti-virus program "Parental Control" (first month free)
- Yandex.Disk subscription
- Office 365 subscription
- Static IP address
- Additional channel sets
- "Multiroom"
conclusions
Two years ago, in a number of regions, the Tele2 operator also launched the Convergent program, but now connection to it is closed. As part of the offer, a line of “Multi” tariffs with wired Internet and TV, and a Tele2 mobile communications package was available in certain regions. The services were provided jointly with Tele2’s parent structure, Rostelecom.
Today, only the Big Three operators offer full converged tariffs, which allows you to get favorable conditions for using several services in one package. The offer of MTS and MegaFon in Moscow is limited by the fact that in order to use the offers you will need to sign a second agreement for the use of fixed-line services.
