What kind of cellular communication is there in Crimea 2021, what telecom operators work in Crimea, how much does mobile communication cost in Crimea 2021? When going on vacation in Crimea, you should take care in advance of good cellular communications and the Internet if you need them during the trip. It’s better not to rely on “maybe”, because here everything is not the same as in Russia as a whole, the tariffs are different. Roaming has been formally “turned off”, and bills can amount to thousands of rubles.
| The second important point is to study the information about bank cards; here, too, there are differences from the mainland and there are no ATMs of Sberbank and VTB. I also recommend downloading the Travellinka branded map of Crimea to your phone. To work, you don’t need the Internet, you don’t consume traffic on your phone, the map determines the location via satellite and plots the route; beaches, attractions, hotels, and cafes are marked on it. |
For those who are not aware, Crimea is an unrecognized territory for the whole world (except for Russia), therefore the activities of companies in this territory are subject to sanctions.
Only companies that operate exclusively in Russia are not afraid of sanctions. But mobile communications in Crimea and the usual operators also work outside of Russia, so they do not officially enter Crimea and provide services as in roaming (except for MTS, they are apparently fearless).
According to the new law, all operators must cancel roaming throughout Russia, including Crimea and Sevastopol. Naturally, there is no mention of mobile Internet in the law, so these tariffs have skyrocketed. Pay 5000 rub. for Megafon's mobile Internet - easy!
| You can find and book excursions in Crimea from local residents on Sputnik8 and Tripster. And housing from the owners is on Sutochno.ru. The largest database of rental real estate in Crimea. Verified. |
What mobile communications work on the peninsula in 2021?
The first feature that catches the eye of guests of the peninsula is the absence of large operators from the Russian Federation . But this fact does not mean at all that local residents and visitors live without communication. There are several operators operating here, whose coverage covers the entire territory of the Republic of Crimea.
On the peninsula you cannot find many large companies familiar to every resident of the Russian Federation: Beeline, Tele-2, Megafon. More precisely, these operators are present there, but with limited capabilities, since they are forced to rent cell towers from local companies. For these reasons, you cannot buy their SIM cards in Crimea, and existing SIM cards imported from Russian regions will work in roaming, which can increase communication costs.
Currently the following operators operate in Crimea:
- "MTS"
- "Win mobile"
- "Wave mobile"
- "Sevmobile"
- "Krymtelecom"
Important! You can buy their SIM cards both in specialized stores and in any Crimean kiosk.
Which mobile operator to choose when going on vacation?
MTS is the only major operator that has a semi-official presence in the region - more details in this review. But only for the reason that all calls from Crimea are processed through the Krasnodar Territory, so that the company does not fall under sanctions (for this reason, MTS has Krasnodar tariffs in Crimea).
To summarize - the best cellular communication in Crimea
- The largest operator is MTS , which offers subscribers communication services in national roaming on relatively favorable terms.
- The second most important is Win Mobile , the first operator to place its communicators on the peninsula.
- The top three is closed by Tele2 with low cost of calls within the Russian Federation. The company is followed by Beeline and Megafon.
I'm going to Crimea, which operator should I choose? Experienced tourists recommend purchasing a “local” SIM card in order to always stay in touch. According to reviews from travelers, MTS works well in Crimea.
What is roaming in Crimea? Mobile operators of the so-called “Big Four” (MTS, Beeline, Tele2 and Megafon) entered into agreements with local companies that connected subscribers from Crimea. All subscribers coming from the mainland are actually served by local operators using their equipment. The cost of services will not change in any way.
Mobile Internet
There is cellular Internet on the peninsula, but its speed and price leave much to be desired:
- 3G coverage here can be found only in the largest cities: Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Alushta, Feodosia, Kerch, Bakhchisarai, Evpatoria . And even then not in all areas.
- 4G coverage is even less and is available only in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta .
- The basis of the mobile Internet on the peninsula is a slow 2G EDGE connection.
Recommendations for using mobile communications in Crimea
- First of all, you need to buy a SIM card locally in order to avoid overpaying for roaming.
- It is better to purchase a card in large populated areas, in which case its cost will be less than in hard-to-reach areas.
- Before purchasing a card, you need to compare the companies’ offers and choose the best one, depending on your needs for communication and Internet access.
- When making calls and transferring data, you need to ensure that the device is connected to the desired operator, and not the nearest tower, as this will be cheaper.
- If you are using a non-Crimean SIM card, it is recommended to connect options and top up your account in Russia, it will be cheaper than on the peninsula.
- After the user has moved to the mainland, the card must be immediately disabled to avoid commission charges.
It is worth remembering that the main criterion for choosing a tariff plan should be the total cost of its use, as well as the data transfer speed.
Recently, one can increasingly come across reviews of the quality of communication on the peninsula. This is due to the fact that after the annexation of the territory, some towers that belonged to Ukrainian companies were demolished, while others were not modernized for a long time. Despite all the steps taken by the Russian government to normalize the situation, today users still remain dissatisfied. There is practically no development in this area. For example, for the period 2014-2018. the number of towers increased by only 3%, which does not correspond to the growth rate of the population’s needs. There is still no coverage at all in some areas, and people living in these places do not have full access to the Internet.
Access to the GSM network is available almost everywhere, but this is only possible thanks to the infrastructure that remains from the times when Crimea was in Ukraine. The functionality of the towers does not meet the needs of the population, and the characteristics of the equipment are significantly inferior to regulatory requirements. Even in such a large city as Sevastopol, there are a large number of so-called “gray zones” - places where access problems are registered. Not only the local population suffers from the above problems, but also tourists, who are amazed at the cost of the basic package of services. According to ongoing research, up to 15% of those visiting the peninsula prefer to completely abandon the services of local operators in order to avoid paying the high cost of the proposed connection options.
WinMobile
The largest operator on the peninsula (official website here), which owns almost all cell towers. Offers subscribers 4 tariffs.
Attention! When you activate the SIM card, the Internet option will be connected automatically! To prevent money from being debited when you accidentally access the Internet, disable this service in your personal account.
Rates
Online
“Online” - unlimited internet
- ◔ within the network – 3 ₽ per minute + SMS for 3 ₽
- ◑ Crimea and Krasnodar - 3 ₽ per minute + SMS for 3 ₽
