Megafon encourages subscribers to switch to more expensive tariffs / D. Abramov / Vedomosti

From May 18, the Moscow branch of Megafon will raise prices for long-distance SMS and MMS messages and calls that are paid in addition to the cost of the service package in the Vse Vklyucheno XS and Vse Vklyucheno M tariff plans, the company's website says. For subscribers of Vse Vklyucheno XS (for whom a fixed set of services costs 199 rubles per month), SMS messages to all Russian numbers outside the home region will increase in price from 2.9 to 3.9 rubles, and MMS - from 6 to 7 rubles. Subscribers to the Vse Vklyucheno M tariff plan (590 rubles per month) will pay 3 rubles per minute for long-distance calls - 10 kopecks more than before, the cost of SMS to numbers of other operators outside the home region for them will increase by 34% to 3.9 rubles, and MMS - from 2.9 to 7 rubles.

Only calls and messages to numbers assigned to other regions are becoming more expensive, and not to Moscow numbers temporarily in roaming, clarifies Megafon representative Tatyana Zvereva. Subscribers who periodically send long-distance SMS/MMS and call numbers in other cities make up an average of 5-7%, believes Denis Kuskov, CEO of the Telecom Daily information and analytical agency. According to his estimates, more than 25% of Megafon subscribers throughout Russia have signed up for the “Vse Vklyucheno” tariffs.

For the services whose prices are now being revised, Megafon has always charged less than other operators in the Moscow region, says Zvereva. And it will remain so, she promises: even after the adjustment, the tariffs for these services in the capital branch will still be lower than the prices of competitors.

Megafon's competitors do not plan to follow its example. Package offers are VimpelCom's flagship product and their prices are not changing, says the operator's representative Anna Aybasheva. At the end of last year, VimpelCom froze the tariffs for the "Vse!" line, she recalls. MTS does not plan to revise its prices either, says its representative Dmitry Solodovnikov.

The goal of all mobile operators is to increase monthly revenue per subscriber, so they have to somehow push users to subscribe to packages that include more services and, accordingly, are more expensive, Kuskov states. Increasing prices for services not included in a fixed-price package tempts subscribers to switch to a package that includes more services, but not for 200, but, for example, for 400 rubles - so as not to "overpay", he reasons. And this is what the operator needs - the average monthly bill grows.

Megafon is forced to raise prices, because its revenue has been declining for the second quarter in a row, says a person close to the major mobile operator. Megafon's consolidated revenue fell in the first quarter of 2015 by 1.2% compared to the level of a year ago, and revenue from mobile communications by 1%. The company explained this, among other things, by the effect of the 2014 Olympics: a year ago, Megafon received a large one-time income from roaming in Sochi.

Megafon to Raise Long-Distance Mobile Call Costs for Muscovites