The Digital Development Ministry confirmed that it plans to introduce charges for international traffic

The Digital Development Ministry confirmed that it plans to introduce charges for international traffic

"The specific parameters of the mechanism for additional billing of international traffic of [mobile communications] users are being worked out," the Digital Development Ministry said in its reply to an inquiry from the Russian Association of Communications Companies. The reply was published by the Telegram channel "The Other Side of Telecom."

At the end of March, sources of Forbes and the BBC Russian Service reported that the Digital Development Ministry had asked telecom operators to charge customers an additional fee for VPN traffic: 150 rubles per gigabyte above a 15-gigabyte limit. The plan was to start on May 1, but the operators asked for a delay.

After the reports about VPN traffic billing, questions arose about how operators would distinguish it from ordinary international traffic. Judging by the Digital Development Ministry's reply, the agency treats them as one and the same, the channel "The Other Side of Telecom" notes.

@meduzalive

Meduza

Russia's largest services are cutting off access for users with VPN enabled

Since mid-April, Russia's largest services have begun blocking access to their apps for users in Russia who have VPN enabled. Previously, some services may already have been unavailable to certain users, but in recent days this has become…