Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chided Russia's major mobile-phone
providers for charging what the government considers excessive
roaming fees and suggested the companies could be punished if they
don't cut them, daily Vedomosti reports Wednesday.
Answering questions from lawmakers in the Duma, the lower house
of parliament, Putin on Tuesday pointed out that the Federal
Anti-Monopoly Service in March began investigating the charges for
roaming--the connecting of one provider's customer to the network
of another operator, such as when that customer is traveling. Any
company found to be charging higher rates than necessary will be
punished, Putin said without giving details, according to
Vedomosti.
The FAS explained its antitrust probe of OAO Mobile TeleSystems
(MBT), OAO Vimpel Communications (OVIP) and OAO Megafon by saying
the "big three" assess roaming fees that are up to 2.5 times what
they charge for international calls and three to six times what the
European Union allows among its member nations.
An analyst for IKS Consulting, Yulia Fyodorova, said roaming
revenues account for 6% to 11% of the three providers' revenues. In
2009, the combined revenue of MTS, VimpelCom and Megafon exceeded
$24 billion.
Representatives of all three companies stressed to Vedomosti
that their roaming fees on international calls are driven by what
foreign operators charge to use their networks.
Newspaper Web site: www.vedomosti.ru
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900