ST IT CEO commented to Fontanka on a fee for foreign internet traffic
Source: Fontanka
The Ministry of Digital Development is working on a fee for international traffic in 5G networks. Anton Averyanov explained what operators will have to upgrade and what matters for business
About the news
The Ministry of Digital Development keeps working on the idea of charging subscribers separately for international mobile internet traffic. According to Kommersant, the plan concerns 5G networks and a limit of 50 GB per month
In March, a free limit of 15 GB was discussed. The goal remains the same: to reduce the use of VPN
Expert commentary
Anton Averyanov, CEO of ST IT, told Fontanka that an operator would have to track which network each subscriber's traffic went through and in what volume, and link this data to billing. This requires upgrading the packet core of the network and the billing systems
He considers the limit itself high for most users. In 2025, a private subscriber in Russia used about 24 GB of mobile internet per month on average. That figure covers all traffic, while the limit applies only to international traffic
“In any case, what will matter far more for business is not the 50 GB limit itself, but how exactly the operator will technically identify and bill international traffic,” Anton Averyanov noted
