Mobile connected: we compare tariff plans of three Belarusian cellular operators

Mobile communications in Belarus are identical to those in Russia: there are 3 operators. One of them is MTS, but naturally Belarusian. And here it is in a leading position, featuring the best quality of communication. In second and third place are Life and Velcom - companies that are practically in no way inferior in quality to MTS. They are distinguished by more lenient tariff prices.

Despite the fact that international roaming is planned to be abolished in the country, operators are resisting this, setting their own conditions.

Where to buy a SIM card

The process of purchasing SIM cards in Belarus is similar to the Russian one. You can purchase and activate it yourself; no special knowledge is required. To purchase such products, you should go to a cellular communication store, having with you a passport of a citizen of the country.

Each telecom operator has its own prices for SIM cards. But the essence is the same - it is provided free of charge, and the subscriber makes an advance payment for a tariff that will be valid for a certain period of use. On average, the cost of a SIM card is 5-7 Belarusian rubles, which translated into Russian is 150-200.

Features of mobile networks in Belarus

The development of mobile communications in the country began in 1993, when 4 telephone exchanges were deployed in Minsk. This is how the NMT-450 network came into operation, covering all regional centers within a couple of years. GSM, or the now more familiar 2G standard, appeared in 1997. But the network became widespread only in 2002, when the Russian company MTS got down to business.

3G testing in Belarus was carried out by the operator Velcom. This happened in 2006, and the network became fully operational only 3 years later. Very soon the integration of 4G technology began, which began functioning in 2012. True, the Yota company, which provided its services throughout the country, had to leave the market. As a result, the network really started working only in 2015.

According to information current at the end of 2021, there are almost 12 million cellular subscribers in Belarus out of a population of 9.5 million. Thus, penetration is more than 120%.

Cellular operators in Belarus

There are three mobile operators in the country. Each has its own visitor tariff plans, i.e. guest. And they are all worth considering separately.

MTS

How much will you have to spend on mobile communications in Belarus? More than 5 million people choose MTS as the company that provides them with communications and this accounts for 46% of the entire Belarusian market. The MTS operator in Belarus has some of the most favorable tariffs, both for local use and when used in roaming.

Before purchasing, a foreigner should know:

1. Purchase SIM cards in Belarus only from official sellers. In this case, an agreement is concluded and a passport is needed for this;
2. Unfortunately, without registration, a citizen of another country can only hope for an incomplete selection of tariffs provided;
3. In the Republic of Belarus, there are many ways to deposit money into an account: bank, post office, through mobile banking, using a terminal, etc.

One of the most profitable is the MTS “Easy to Say” tariff. The first and only advance payment will be 3 rubles. This tariff provides for a low client fee of 0.59 rubles per month and the average cost of one call.

It differs from all others in offering profitable calls to other MTS users. A plus will be 50 Megabytes of Internet every month. The cost of calls varies: for three minutes a day the subscriber will pay 0.08 rubles/m, and then 0.03 rubles/m. For calls to landlines, the amount will be 0.15 rubles, the same as for subscribers of other operators. One SMS will cost 0.02 rubles.

There is a tariff “Internet BIT”, which provides access to the World Wide Web without restrictions, but there is a certain usage limit. At maximum speed you can only use up to 100 Megabytes, the rest of the time less than 300 Kbps are available. This is enough for users, but a limitation may arise if they want to watch a movie in HD quality.

Another attractive option for getting 5 GB is to purchase the “Easy to Say” tariff and additionally connect “MiniBIT” for 0.23 rubles per day. The conditions are almost the same as the “BIT” service, but using the Internet at maximum speed is limited to 50 Megabytes. With this tariff, the conversation will cost 0.19 rubles/m. MTS subscribers. 0.33 rub. will be the cost of one call using other methods. One message – 0.06 rub.

Another tariff is “Unlimited” for 15.9 rubles. per month, which includes mobile Internet in Belarus without restrictions and another 400 minutes. There are special offers for tourists in Belarus. For example, “Guest 7” is intended for 7 days in the amount of 6 rubles for 1 GB of Internet and 0.07 rubles per minute for calls from all operators.

Incoming calls on all tariffs are free.

Velcom

Mobile communications in Belarus have long been expanded. This is a recognizable corporation with a large customer base that knows and realizes all the cherished desires of its consumers.

Their tariffs are distinguished by their wide range of services. One of these is the package. VELKOM understands how important mobile Internet is now, so it offers an unlimited amount of time on the Velkom 3G network. Good news will also be 100 minutes of calls with any other operator and 1 GB of Internet traffic. The company does not forget about promotions, for example, the subscription fee for beginners will be only 5.4 rubles per month, unlimited communication time on all networks, and the amount of traffic will increase to 20 GB.

The tariff for mobile communications in Belarus has fairly simple and favorable conditions. For short messages the subscriber will pay 0.04 rubles, for a conversation with another operator the price will be 0.14 rubles from a landline and cell phone. There are mandatory payments, such as prepayment costing 5 rubles and subscription – 10.79 rubles per month. The latter includes calls on the Velkom 3G network.

The company’s assortment also includes a tariff that deserves special attention – “Super Web 5”. The minimum prepayment in this package will be the same price as in the previous one, but the subscription fee will cost 8.5 rubles per month. But calls will cost more, 0.16 rubles on the VELKOM network and 0.37 rubles on all others. The main advantage of this tariff is 5 GB of Internet traffic and further payment for it at an affordable price - 2 kopecks per 10 MB.

For guests of Belarus, VELKOM has provided a “Tourist” package. It does not require a mandatory fee at all. For the comfort of visitors, the company offers 2 GB of traffic and 100 minutes of calls to any operators. To buy a tariff, you need to pay only 15 rubles.

You can connect services on the official website or in special stores. Professional consultants will help you understand all the intricacies and become part of the big VELKOM family by making the right choice of tariff.

Incoming calls and SMS are free on all tariffs.

Life

LIFE is the youngest provider among the largest (cellular) operators in Belarus, created in 2004. It occupies 3rd place in the ranking (operators) and currently occupies 11% of the market share with a subscriber base of 1.26 million people. Provides mobile communication and Internet services, provides access to a high-speed connection of the 4th generation (LTE).

Tariffs provided by the operator:

1. “Voice 2” (calls) - a subscription fee of 6.9 rubles includes unlimited within the network, 100 minutes outside the operator’s coverage area and 1 GB (Internet) traffic. After 100 minutes, the subscriber is offered a tariff of 0.08 rubles per minute. Sending messages is not included in the subscription fee and is paid separately in the amount of 0.04 rubles per message.
2. “Internet 5 GB” - a fee of 8.9 rubles provides the subscriber with 5 GB of traffic (within the network) - as indicated in the name. Calls to both LIFE subscribers and subscribers of other networks are charged at the same rate of 0.08 rubles per minute. Messages are paid for in the same amount as specified in the “Voice 2” tariff. There is no subscription fee, because When the (Internet) traffic is exhausted, a repeat payment is requested.

The total cost of the two tariffs is 15.8 rubles.

It is not profitable for operators to cancel roaming

Director of the telecommunications services department at J'son & partners Kirill Kucherov told CNews that it is not profitable for the operators themselves to reduce roaming tariffs. “This is a decision imposed from above,” explains Kucherov. — It leads to a decrease in operator revenue because another roaming direction disappears. At the same time, no compensation for preferential roaming from the state is provided to either Belarusian or Russian operators.”

New types of attacks can be detected even without signatures and correlation rules

Safety

“Whether the regime will be extended next year will be determined by the state,” adds Kucherov. “It is quite obvious that the operators will not extend this regime of their own free will, if only because this requires at least interstate agreements.”

How to call Belarus from Russia

It also happens that tourists from Belarus come to Russia and they also need to make calls to their homeland. And it happens that such a need arises among Russians. To get through, you need to understand the dialing codes and rules.

The country prefix at the international level is 375. To make a call using a landline telephone, you must first “go out” to the long-distance telephone line (via 8), and then to the communication center (via 10).

When calling a cell phone, instead of +7, put +375.

For clarity, let's look at examples:

1. Call Belarus from a mobile phone: +375XXX XXXXXXX.
2. To a landline: dial the number 8, wait for the dial tone, dial 10 and 375, followed by the city prefix and landline phone number.

Using an example, consider a call to Minsk: dial 8, wait for the dial tone, then 375 and the Minsk code 070, and then the city number, for example, 1345789.

Prefixes of Belarusian cities (codes of mobile operators in Belarus):

• 070 – Minsk;
• 0162 – Brest;
• 015 – Grodno;
• 02230 – Gomel;
• 0212 – Vitebsk;
• 0222 – Mogilev.

Preferential roaming between Russia and Belarus extended until the end of 2021

Russian and Belarusian mobile operators have agreed to extend the test regime for preferential tariffs for roaming services when their subscribers travel between the two countries. This was reported by the Sputnik agency.

A test regime of preferential roaming tariffs between the two countries was introduced on November 1, 2021. Then the operators agreed to reduce the interconnect rate (internetwork interaction) by 20 times: from $0.3 to $0.015 per minute. This led to a multiple reduction in the cost of calls in roaming for subscribers. The test period was supposed to last until the end of 2021, after which it was planned to be extended on a permanent basis.

Unlimited

Where do you think velcom is hiding | A1? And he is here! I have prepared three proposals for unlimited. Although in fact, unlimited offers carry some nuances. For example, offers from MTS and velcom | A1 provide for a reduction in speed after the volume limit is exhausted. In particular, MTS has a speed beyond the limit of 256 kbit/sec, and velcom | A1 it ranges from 512 Kbps to 1 Mbps. This is the trick. And it’s also worth noting that velcom | A1 plus on top gives 79 VOKA TV channels. The cheapest option is available from MTS, but you need to be prepared for the fact that after using 250 meters per day, the speed will drop. Will this bother you? MTS also offers the most expensive, and here you get more freedom in traffic per day.

Conclusion

The more you take, the less you pay - this is the principle left on the surface by mobile operators. What we have? If recently Life was the cheapest, now MTS has surpassed it. It offers the lowest price for a good amount of 30 GB, plus it also has the cheapest unlimited Internet. Velcom has left its competitors behind, changing its focus to unlimited, but even without that, its line of tariffs is full of offers with traffic already included (check them out for yourself), and it also lures VOKA TV subscribers. But we also want to add that when choosing a mobile operator, also remember about availability. It is important that cellular communications have good reception. You can choose the most profitable one, but will it be of any use if your devices do not connect to it?..

Source: www.infobank.by

A1

The provider appeared in 1998. Maternal. Today this operator is considered the second most important in the country. In addition to cellular communication services, it provides Internet access and sells equipment, accessories and mobile devices. Today the company offers 25 tariffs. At the time of writing, the company was running a promotion for new clients. Below you will find standard prices for communications and Internet excluding promotions in Belarusian rubles and US dollars.

1. No Limit . Those who connect to home Internet have a free tariff. Telephone communication – 500 minutes (any calls). Internet – unlimited. Cost – 25.89 rubles. ($10.65).
2. Comfort M. For those who connect to home Internet, the Internet is free. Calls on the same network are unlimited. To numbers of other operators – 120 minutes. Internet – 10 GB. Cost – 21.73 rubles. ($8.94).
3. Comfort L. Telephone communication – without restrictions on the numbers of any providers. Internet – 25 GB (social networks and popular instant messengers – free). The tariff includes the VOKA video service. Cost – 31.09 rubles. ($12.80).

Website – https://www.a1.by/

The provider regularly updates tariff plans and offers promotions and bonuses.