Rostelecom became mobile again

Rostelecom, after a two-year break, is returning to the mobile communications market - now in the format of a virtual operator. From November 7, a Rostelcom SIM card can be issued at any sales office of the company in the Urals and Perm Territory. It is assumed that mobile communications will allow the universal operator to increase the loyalty of the existing subscriber base, expand its presence in the corporate market, and also launch converged services for the Internet of things, smart home and industrial Internet.

“You cannot step into the same river twice,” says the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus. However, this statement does not seem to apply to Rostelecom. The company keeps entering the same river for the second, third and even fourth time. The launch of mobile communication services under the Rostelecom brand is a vivid confirmation of this.

Until 2005, the company (at that time it was the regional operators South Ural Cell Phone, Uralsvyazinform, Yermak RMS, Tyumenruskom) had already built and operated mobile networks in the Urals. In 2005, all cellular assets were united under a single Utel brand. In 2012, the Utel brand was replaced by the federal Rostelecom. Well, in 2014, the state-owned company transferred all its mobile assets to a joint venture (JV) with the Tele2 operator. This step was supposed to increase the efficiency of doing business.

The creation of the joint venture freed Rostelecom from the significant investment burden required to develop the mobile business. Thanks to this, the company concentrated on the development of high-speed Internet using optical technologies. In turn, Tele2, having received mobile assets and the license base of Rostelecom, quickly launched the construction and modernization of the network for the introduction of 3G, 4G, and also significantly increased the geography and number of service regions.

For the last two years, Rostelecom has focused exclusively on the fixed-line market, while Tele2 has focused on the mobile market.

However, changes in the telecommunications market and the rapid development of Internet of things technologies forced the management of Rostelecom to return to mobile communications. True, this time the company did not launch networks on its own. A cost-effective virtual operator (MVNO) model was used. The project partner, as expected, was a joint venture based on Tele2, 45% of whose shares are owned by Rostelecom.

What is MVNO?

A mobile virtual network operator is a company that uses the existing infrastructure of another operator, but sells services under its own brand.

The full MVNO model implies that the virtual operator uses only the radio part of the partner (frequencies, base stations and networks connecting them). The virtual operator itself is responsible for everything else: licenses, its own numbering resource, switching, billing, SMS center and customer service center. Thus, with a full MVNO model, an operator can offer its own mobile product. Rostelecom has taken this path.

The company uses the existing infrastructure of Tele2, but has its own licenses for the provision of mobile services, its own number resource, its own switching center, billing and customer service center, which, by the way, is located in the Chelyabinsk region.

Rostelecom tariffs for mobile communications

In terms of pricing, Rostelecom's proposals for mobile services almost completely copy Tele2's tariffs. Subscribers have access to four Super Simka package tariffs with a different set of services: S, M, L, XL (full copies of Tele2 Black, Very Black, Super Black, Mega Black tariffs). In addition, there is a tariff without a monthly fee "Super Simka Free" with a single price for all directions in the home region, as well as a tariff for modems and tablets. There are additional "Just Internet" options with different mobile traffic packages: S, M and L.

Rostelecom's entry into the mobile communications market may primarily be of interest to the company's existing subscribers. The fact is that Rostelecom mobile users can communicate with home phone subscribers in their region for free. As part of the campaign, all calls between fixed and mobile phones of Rostelecom are free. When purchasing a SIM card, a one-time 50% discount on the subscription fee for home telephony services is also provided. Thus, the state-owned company seeks to minimize the outflow of wired phone customers.

In addition, Rostelecom mobile users will be included in the bonus program, which will allow them to receive discounts, for example, on subscription fees for home telephones, interactive TV, purchases of films in the media library, etc. All discounts are promised to be added to the personal account on the corporate website of Rostelecom, as well as to the mobile application in the very near future.

In the near future, Rostelecom customers will be able to combine their personal account for wired telephony, Internet and interactive TV services with a mobile account. Moreover, the operator's representatives promised to launch a single account that combines 4 communication services for the whole family with the possibility of planning and quoting mobile Internet, minutes and SMS packages, buying movies, connecting Parental Control. Such integration will allow launching “family tariffs”, as well as general Internet packages for a variety of devices, a combined package for home and mobile Internet.

In order to become the owner of a Rostelecom SIM card, you need to use at least one of the company's main services - a home phone, Home Internet or Interactive TV. You can issue it at any Rostelecom sales and service center or by ordering it on the operator's website.

The Rostelecom SIM card is suitable for any subscriber devices (smartphones, tablets, mobile phones), as it is available in three form factors at once: nano, mini and standard.

In addition to individual clients, Rostelecom's mobile communications are also available to corporate clients. Special tariff offers for small, medium and large businesses have been developed.

The company does not deny that they are actually returning to work schemes two or three years ago. When connecting service packages, for example, Internet access and mobile communications, a flexible system of discounts applies. Rostelecom also offers a convenient cloud solution called Mobile Device Management, a service for secure remote use of corporate information systems and resources on employee mobile devices.

Comprehensive communication services: now also mobile services

Rostelecom hopes that the company will be able to become a single provider of communications services for customers, offering fixed-line telephony, Internet, interactive TV and mobile communications services.

“By launching mobile communication services under the Rostelecom brand, we offer our subscribers to take their usual home communication services and content with them. Now they will be available anywhere where there is a mobile connection. For example, on a smartphone, you can watch the same set of TV channels as at home. Our company will combine home and mobile phones into one network, and on-net calls are always the most profitable. In the future, we plan to develop family tariff offers, for example, to provide a comprehensive package for home and mobile Internet services. Rostelecom's services at the most attractive rates are now always close to our subscribers, not only at home, but also outside of it,” notes Anton Kolpakov, Vice President and Director of the Ural macro-regional branch of PJSC Rostelecom.

In addition, Rostelecom relies on various mobile applications that help make the use and management of communication services as comfortable and simple as possible. For example, the Interactive TV application with the help of the Multiscreen service allows you to watch the same content on the screen of a smartphone or tablet as on a TV at home. The My Rostelecom application is a mobile personal account in which it is easy to manage services and options, replenish an account, participate in a bonus program, and so on. There is also a popular mobile application "Gosuslugi", which is supported by Rostelecom. A mobile application for IP-telephony "Allyo" (similar to Skype) will soon be presented, which will be linked to fixed telephony numbering and will help to make long-distance calls at favorable rates.

The launch of the MVNO will also make it easier for Rostelecom to provide IoT, smart home and industrial internet services. The fact is that most of the innovative gadgets interact with each other through SIM cards and mobile communications. Taking into account the fact that the state-owned company is actively investing in the Internet of things, cloud technologies and the industrial Internet, the launch of mobile communication services looks natural. Potential customers will no longer need to enter into several contracts with different operators.

Summary

In order to streamline all the information about the emergence of a "new" "old" mobile operator in the Urals, we have formulated several theses.

1. If you are not a client of Rostelecom and are not going to become one, you will not be interested in launching mobile communications from this operator. The presented tariffs are identical to Tele2 tariffs.

2. If you are a Rostelecom customer or intend to become one, switching to mobile communications from Rostelecom may be of interest. First, you will receive free calls to landlines and from landlines to mobiles. Secondly, you can receive a 50% discount on your home telephone subscription fee if you use one. Thirdly, mobile communications are included in Rostelecom's bonus program. The accumulated points can be spent on communication services, the purchase of digital content, films, etc.

3. You can manage Rostelecom's mobile communications from the operator's personal account and mobile application (no need to update).

4. To switch to Rostelecom mobile communications, you can use the number storage service. For a direct transition, you need to write an application and pay 100 rubles for the fact of transferring the number.

5. Corporate clients of Rostelecom again have the opportunity to receive all communication services from one operator at special prices. This, in turn, simplifies the workflow and improves the level of customer service.

6. Rostelecom's customers can count on the emergence of integrated services for the Internet of things, smart home and services for automating production processors using the industrial Internet.

It should be noted that the integration processes of combining or bonusing different communication services are typical for many telecom companies.

For example, subscribers of the MTS operator can receive discounts on the subscription fee for wired Internet and TV services. MegaFon and Dom.ru subscribers can receive cross discounts on subscription fees. At Beeline, you can use a single package offer for mobile communications, wired Internet and interactive TV. Clients of Intersvyaz premium tariffs can use 4G Internet free of charge using special SIM cards (MegaFon acts as a technology partner).

Thus, Rostelecom's new proposal is a completely predictable and justified step towards building a loyal subscriber base for the future.