On the territory of Russia in the MTS network, communication services are provided to subscribers in full if the account balance is positive. Accordingly, when going on a trip to another region of our country, you do not need to activate roaming. However, in order to significantly reduce communication costs when traveling around Russia, you can connect some services. This will allow you to communicate with friends and family and access the Internet without restrictions throughout Russia.
Recently it became known that MTS has canceled roaming in Russia. Now subscribers will be able to receive incoming calls from any region of Russia for free, and pay for outgoing calls at the price of their home region. These changes have so far affected all tariffs.
What's free when traveling around Russia?
The MTS company cares about the comfort of its customers when traveling and helps make the trip more relaxing, thanks to useful services. During the trip you can:
- Incoming calls are free throughout Russia (if you are on the MTS network);
- Mobile Internet - throughout Russia at home;
- Outgoing calls in the region where you are located - regardless of the region where you are located - are at home throughout Russia;
- Make a call to the MTS Contact Center. If the subscriber needs to contact the operator, he can do so at any time. Just dial 0890.
- Find out how to save money. By dialing *111*33# on your phone, you can go to the roaming portal and find out about great offers.
- To plug . To call and send messages to MTS subscribers at their expense, you need to dial the combination *880#.
General state of roaming among Russian operators
The changes affected the name of the home region. It is now called the connection region. In such areas, local call rates apply. As for calls to other regions, they are considered long-distance. If the client ends up in another area, then it becomes the home region. And then calls to the location are considered local, and to other areas ¾ long-distance.
For example, a user from Moscow leaves for Krasnodar. At the same time, he uses a tariff with calls within Moscow and its region. While in Krasnodar, the same tariff will apply to calls within its region, and calls to the Moscow region will cost the same as long-distance calls.
The lucky ones are subscribers who have a tariff plan that includes minutes within Russia. Such people can call from anywhere in the country with the same call rate. If we consider the Internet on a mobile phone, then the prices for it remain the same, regardless of the operator’s tariff.
Option for roaming Home package Russia MTS (daily payment)
| There is a home package of SMS and calls throughout Russia | 10.5 rub/day. |
| A package of minutes is spent on calls to other numbers in your home region (long-distance) | your package of minutes |
| Incoming calls | For free |
Smart subscribers who have activated this option spend their package of minutes and SMS on numbers of other operators in their home region. This means that if you come from Moscow to Tver, then calls from Tver to Moscow (home) will now be long-distance, and minutes will be spent from your package. And if you don’t activate the service, then the cost of a long-distance minute for operators other than MTS is 6 rubles/min.
A fee of 10 rubles is debited once a day, provided that the client sends messages or calls.
Connection and deactivation of the service is carried out using the command *111*743#.
The service can be activated only on the tariffs “My Unlimited”, “Tariffishche”, “X”, “Smart Unlimited”, “Smart”, “Smart nonstop”, “Smart mini”, “Smart light”
What is intranet roaming and how does it affect the cost of calls?
The line of tariff plans of Mobile TeleSystems is built according to the following principle:
- the territory of Russia is divided into separate service areas;
- comparison of prices and services offered by competitors is carried out;
- Separate TP directions are being developed for each region, which makes it possible to organize the most favorable conditions for daily use.
In order to increase their own profits, companies began to additionally charge calls between such regions, which has a negative impact in the following cases:
- frequent calls within Russia;
- need to travel to another city;
- there is no way to track the location of the subscriber to whose number the call is made.
Of course, there are also a variety of options and additional features that can help you save money. Not all clients have the opportunity to take advantage of such an offer, which makes the issue of canceling MTS roaming relevant for discussion with higher authorities.
This situation was raised at the state level, where, over the course of multiple meetings, deputies proposed their own options for amendments to regulate this situation. More details about the final solution in the next section.
Option Home package Russia plus MTS (payment per month)
| There is a home package of SMS and calls throughout Russia | 104 rub/month. |
| A package of minutes is spent on calls to any Russian operators (long-distance) | your package of minutes |
| Incoming calls | For free |
If a subscriber wants to save money and receive a package of calls and SMS to the numbers of all Russian operators, which can be used when traveling around Russia, then it is better to connect the “Russia Home Package” + MTS. The service costs 100 rubles per month, the fee is debited at the time of activation. This means that if you come from Moscow to Tver, then calls from Tver to any other city will now be long-distance, and minutes will be spent from your package. And if you don’t activate the service, then the cost of a long-distance minute for operators other than MTS is 6 rubles/min.
The service can be activated only on the tariffs “My Unlimited”, “Tariffishche”, “X”, “Smart Unlimited”, “Smart”, “Smart nonstop”, “Smart mini”, “Smart light”
General situation with roaming cancellation
Subscribers are interested in whether roaming in Russia has been canceled on MTS, and what are the tariff conditions now. Its cancellation occurred back in 2018, and in 2021 amendments to the Law “On Communications” came into force, making all incoming calls free. Intranet roaming has indeed disappeared; subscribers are moving within the country without changing tariffs.
Today MTS tariffs are divided into two categories:
- With local minute packages - when traveling around Russia, the minutes from the package are used for calls within the region where you are located. For example, a subscriber from Moscow who travels to the Krasnodar Territory with this tariff will call home at long-distance prices. In this case, calls within Krasnodar will be deducted from the package of minutes - they are considered local;
- With all-Russian packages of minutes, you can move freely around Russia, spending minutes from the package in all domestic Russian directions.
The first category included not only package tariffs with local packages, but also tariff plans without a subscription fee. There are two main directions in such tariffs - locally and throughout Russia. If a subscriber from Moscow with such a tariff plan goes to the Krasnodar Territory, then calls back to Moscow will be long-distance for him, and calls within Krasnodar will be local (cheaper).
Often the subscriber believes that the abolition of roaming should have led to equalization of the cost of all calls within Russia - but this is not the case. Intercity remains intercity; on many MTS tariffs it is more expensive than local calls. It should be understood that no one intended to cancel the intercity route - this was not part of the plans of the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Government of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the operators coped with the task:
- All incoming calls within the Russian Federation have become free;
- Local communications in the regions where you are located have become as cheap as at home;
- Owners of tariffs with all-Russian packages of minutes can communicate while traveling under the same conditions as in their home region (nothing changes for them at all).
Roaming has been cancelled, but long-distance service remains – these are the tariff conditions for today.
What's free when traveling around Russia
Traveling around Russia has become much more profitable. We'll tell you why this is so:
- From the beginning of June (1st) 2021, operators were obliged to make incoming messages free – even if they come from abroad. They remain free even in Crimea and Sevastopol;
- The cost of Internet traffic and the procedure for its consumption are now the same. Even if the tariff does not include all-Russian minutes, you can safely call through instant messengers, saving on communication costs - the packages work throughout Russia without additional charges. The Internet will work both on the mainland of the Russian Federation and in Crimea and Sevastopol;
- All-Russian call packages are valid when traveling around the country without additional payments - travel and communicate without unnecessary expenses or thoughts about roaming.
Choose a suitable tariff plan and go on a trip.
MTS does not have any special conditions for subscribers traveling to Crimea or Sevastopol - travel around the peninsula under the same conditions as in other parts of Russia. All packages of minutes, traffic and SMS will work here.
Service Everywhere at home Russia MTS
| Calls to any numbers in your home region for 3 rubles/min. | Subscription fee 5.2 rubles/day. |
| Incoming calls | For free |
To make calls while traveling around Russia at a favorable price - 3 rubles per minute to any numbers in your home region - you can activate the “Russia is like home everywhere” option. The cost of the service is 5.2 rubles per day.
The service cannot be activated on the following tariffs: “My Unlimited”, “Tariffishche”, “X”, “Smart Unlimited”, “Smart”, “Smart nonstop”, “Smart mini”, “Smart light”, “Smart Top”, “Ultra” ", "Smart +"
You can add an option to your tariff and “cancel” roaming in Russia MTS 2020 through your personal account by sending an SMS with the numbers 528 to number 111 or by dialing the combination *111*528#.
The rest of the SMS package can be checked in your personal account or by dialing *100*1#.
Is roaming canceled or not in Crimea?
MTS canceled roaming in Crimea quite a long time ago - the operator’s subscribers register in the Win Mobile network and use all communication services in the same way as in any other Russian region. If the subscriber’s tariff includes only a home package, it is recommended that he activate one of the options we have considered. The Internet will work without any roaming or surcharges.
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Author
Vyacheslav
For several years he worked in mobile phone stores of two large operators. I understand tariffs well and see all the pitfalls. I love gadgets, especially Android ones.
Super Bit
| 3 GB of Internet traffic in Russia | 350 rub/month. |
Many MTS clients have heard about this option and prefer to connect it when roaming. According to the terms, the subscriber is provided with 3 GB of Internet traffic free of charge per month. After they are exhausted, additional 500 MB packages are “turned on.” The cost of one package is 75 rubles. If necessary, you can refuse additional MB and use the “Turbo buttons”.
The cost of the option is 350 rubles/month. *111*628# is a command to activate the service on your number.
Beeline
Subscribers of this operator do not need to activate additional options or pay for communications separately when located in a region different from the connection. The exception is Crimea, where payment for incoming and outgoing calls is 2.03 rubles/min, the cost of CMC is 2.03 rubles per message . Citizens traveling around Russia can use mobile Internet on very favorable terms.
However, while in Crimea, Beeline subscribers in other regions will encounter a discrepancy in communication prices, but only on some tariffs.
MTS mini
| 7 GB of Internet traffic in Russia | 500 rub/month. |
Subscribers of all tariff plans have access to the “Internet-Mini” option, valid in Russia. It allows you to access the Internet even outside your home region. An MTS client receives 7 GB of Internet traffic per month for 500 rubles.
To activate the service you need to enter the command *111*160#.
Tele 2
Tariffs from the Tele2 operator do not include roaming costs. For example, consider the “My Online” tariff, which contains 500 free minutes for calls within Russia and 15 GB of Internet for mobile. Tariffing outside the home region:
- For mobile Internet, it is valid according to the connected tariff;
- For voice communication it is valid according to the package in the tariff;
- For calls over the package, the cost is one and a half rubles per minute for the home region, two rubles per minute for other numbers in Russia.
When connecting to the “Classic” tariff plan, it is worth considering one drawback: in the connection region, long-distance calls cost nine rubles per minute, and when traveling ¾ five rubles per minute. Most likely, the reduced cost of roaming satisfies the government more.
Some features in Crimea:
- The cost of incoming calls is ruble per minute;
- The cost of outgoing calls within Russia is three rubles per minute;
- The cost of sent SMS and MMS within Russia is three rubles per piece;
- The cost of mobile Internet is three rubles per MB.
MTS VIP
| 30 GB of Internet traffic in Russia | 1200 rub/month. |
MTS customers who are not used to limiting their time on the Internet will like the “Internet-VIP” option, offering 30 GB of traffic during the day and unlimited at night. The monthly service fee of 1,200 rubles is debited at the time of connection. You can add an option to your number by dialing *111*166#.
The “Internet-Maxi” and “Internet-VIP” options also provide a discount on MTS TV. In the first case, clients receive a discount of 30%, in the second – 50%.
It is possible to reduce your communication costs while roaming MTS in Russia thanks to the options that the mobile operator offers its customers. Taking into account your needs, you can connect services that will help you make calls or access the Internet at a favorable price. The main thing is to take care of connecting the appropriate option in advance.
Yota
The fundamental difference between Yota is that all tariff lines did not imply intranet roaming, but did not do without restrictions on the subscriber being outside the connection region.
Staying for more than 30 days in a row in another region, the subscriber lost his tariff, and payment for communications was made according to the “Regional” tariff, in which services are slightly more expensive, but in the spring of 2021 the tariff ceased to exist, and with it the operator’s roaming restrictions.
The case of intranet roaming
On July 17, 2021, the Federal Antimonopoly Service issued a warning to the Big Four mobile operators, requiring them to change tariffs for travel communication services within 14 days, eliminating unreasonable price differences. The FAS has established that charging additional funds for communication services when traveling within the country has no economic or technological justification. Representatives of the “Big Four” then spoke out sharply against the FAS’s claims, calling the requirements to cancel roaming 14 days in advance “impossible.” As a result of the consideration of cases, negotiations on intranet roaming were delayed. At the end of 2021, the FAS dropped claims against Tele2 after this company introduced a new line of tariffs, but on March 5, 2021, it opened cases against the remaining operators. Their consideration was completed only in the summer of 2021. On August 7, operators announced a schedule for canceling roaming. The overall process was completed in September 2021. Despite this, on December 18, 2021, the FAS imposed fines on MTS, Megafon and Beeline in the amount of 737.5 thousand rubles. for each of these operators.
How to activate roaming in Russia
There is no need to activate MTS intranet roaming; it is active for subscribers by default. The only exceptions are some regions where manual connection to the MTS network may be required.
Thus, when located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YNAO), Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (KhMAO) and the Perm Territory, a mobile phone can automatically connect to the cellular networks of other telecom operators. In this case, charging will be made at national roaming prices. To register in the MTS network, use manual settings in the phone menu. For this you will need:
- Go to your phone settings.
- Find the “available networks” item.
- Update their list.
- Select MTS network.
- Save changes.
In case of difficulties, you can contact customer support by calling our toll-free number 8-800-250-0890
(for calls from numbers of any operators and landline phones) or short number
0890 (for calls from MTS numbers).
Tariff plans without internet
For older people who do not delve into modern technology and prefer to save money, options without the Internet, such as “My Friend,” are suitable. And if you don’t like talking on the phone too much, this is an ideal offer.
You need to choose for yourself depending on the goals and duration of the trip: if you plan to go for just a couple of days, there may be no point in buying a new SIM card or switching to another tariff plan: just take advantage of favorable roaming offers.
The case of national roaming
On August 3, 2021, the FAS opened cases under paragraph 1 of part 1 of Article 10 of the Law “On Protection of Competition” against the Big Four operators, revealing the maintenance of “monopoly high prices (tariffs) for communication services in national roaming and when concluding national inter-operator roaming agreements on the territory of the Russian Federation." By the spring of 2021, MTS, Beeline and Megafon, according to the FAS, had eliminated the violations, and the cases against them were completed. Tele2, which did not have a network in 20 Russian regions, had to eliminate the comments before the beginning of autumn 2021. As a result, on September 21, 2021, the FAS reported that in the case of national roaming, all four operators were fined “about 750 thousand rubles.” for everyone."
In fact, in the fall of 2021, Russian cellular operators canceled intranet and national roaming by order of the FAS. The exception was the Crimean Peninsula.
Do I need to activate roaming when traveling to Crimea?
There is no need to activate national roaming in Crimea; this option is enabled by default for MTS subscribers. The exception is when the option was forcibly disabled by the user himself, then it must be enabled again.
There is no MTS network coverage throughout the entire territory of the Crimean Peninsula, so the phone will automatically register in the network of another mobile operator. This could be Win Mobile (K-Telecom), Volna, Krymtelecom or Sevmobile. If you successfully register in the network of one of these operators, the name of the network in whose coverage area you are located will appear on the phone screen instead of the usual “MTS RUS”.
If suddenly registration in the new network does not occur automatically, you should restart the phone (turn it off and on again).
You can choose your own network in the settings. Preference should be given to “WIN” or “25032”; both networks belong to the K-Telecom operator, which has the widest coverage on the peninsula.
To use mobile Internet in Crimea, your phone must allow data transfer while roaming. You can check and allow Internet access in your phone settings according to the following scheme:
- Android : Settings -> Connections -> Mobile networks -> Data roaming (On)
- Apple iOS : Settings -> Cellular -> Data Options -> Data Roaming (On)
Cancellation plans
The Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS) drew attention to the problem of high roaming tariffs in 2010. In its year-end report, the department admitted that the Big Three operators (at that time Beeline, Megafon and MTS) “established and maintained monopolistic high prices for communication services in roaming” (including national). Then the department managed to reduce prices only for international roaming services.
At the end of 2012, the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media introduced amendments to the Law “On Communications” to the State Duma, which provided for the abolition of intranet and national roaming. The bill required major modifications and was not considered even in the first reading.
On June 23, 2021, after the abolition of intranet roaming in the EU, the head of the FAS, Igor Artemyev, announced that he would seek the abolition of roaming within Russia.
My friend
- There is no subscription fee;
- 20 tariff minutes per day;
- starting from the 21st, 1 ruble for network numbers and 1.5 for other homework operators;
- when connecting an additional function, users receive 100 minutes of calls within the network throughout the country;
- payment for traffic per megabyte is 9.9 rubles/MB (the situation is slightly saved by an additional option that provides 20 MB for 11 rubles/day).
Super MTS
- No monthly fee;
- for normal operation, it is better to connect the “Everything is Super” extension: it gives unlimited calls on the network within the region, 100 MB of traffic. Without the connected option, the cost is 0.75 in homework and 3 rubles in the Russian Federation, and for every 20 MB you will have to pay 25 rubles;
- It's funny that messages across the country are cheaper than those sent within the connection area (1, 95 and 2, respectively).
- Stop traffic on the use of social networks and mobile services;
- 7 GB of traffic for all other resources;
- pay only 370 rubles/month (monthly fee 12, 33/day in the first month);
- unlimited conversations within the network;
- 100 minutes to communicate with subscribers of all cellular communication companies in the subject;
- 5 rubles/min for calls within the country.
Tariff "My Sochi" MTS - description
With the “My Sochi” MTS tariff, the daily subscription fee is canceled. You pay for calls, SMS and Internet at the prices provided for in the tariff plan:
- Free inbox;
- 0.14 kopecks costs a minute of communication with MTS subscribers in the preferential zone;
- prices for calls to other networks within homework depend on the current minute ( 2-10 are paid at 0.14 kopecks, 1st, 11th and beyond cost 1.14 rubles);
- when traveling within the Russian Federation, the outgoing cost is fixed - 1.14 r/min;
- calls with MTS users from other constituent entities of the Russian Federation will cost 3 rubles/minute, with subscribers of other operators from non-preferential regions - 12 rubles/minute;
- incoming messages are not paid for;
- the cost of outgoing SMS in homework is 1.05 rubles, within the country – 1.95, SMS to international numbers – 5.25 rubles;
- in the absence of connected options, 1 MB will cost 9.90 rubles;
- The automatically connected option SuperBIT Smart (since 2021 has replaced BIT Smart) is provided free of charge for the first 2 weeks; in the subsequent period, the daily payment is 12 rubles. The amount of traffic available daily is 3 GB.
- You can switch to the tariff by sending a message 214 to service number 111 or after purchasing a starter package.
