Telecom Operators Are Not Managing to Set Up Their Systems by May 1 to Charge for VPN Traffic

Telecom operators are not managing to set up their systems by May 1 to charge for VPN traffic — they have asked the Ministry of Digital Development to postpone the introduction of the fee until the fall, Vedomosti writes, citing sources.

According to the publication’s interlocutors, operators are technically not ready to charge subscribers within the stated timeframe because of difficulties configuring billing systems that track internet traffic and calls in real time, rate them, debit funds, and issue invoices.

Operators also do not fully understand which traffic should be considered international if many Russian companies use foreign IP addresses for their websites and apps.

In late March, Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev asked operators to introduce, starting May 1, a fee for using more than 15 GB of international traffic per month on mobile networks, Forbes wrote.