Rating of the best cellular operators in Russia based on the results of 2022

The question of choosing a mobile operator is purely individual due to the different requirements of each of us: some need the cheapest and fastest mobile Internet, others need many minutes, and others generally need the opportunity to make inexpensive calls abroad.

Below we will compare the Big Four operators on such parameters as the quality of communication and mobile Internet, 4G coverage map and tariff availability, and also analyze user reviews, according to which a rating of Russian cellular operators will be compiled.

MTS

The largest cellular operator MTS offers a tariff plan with unlimited mobile Internet. The subscription fee for such offers starts from 650 rubles.

"Package X" from MTS

As part of this TP, the user will receive an unlimited amount of traffic when using social networks, watching videos on YouTube, and communicating in popular instant messengers.

This rate includes:

• 7 GB of traffic for surfing;
• 100 minutes for communication within the MTS network;
• 200 SMS messages.

SMS messages are intended to be sent within your home region.

"Tariff" from MTS

Activation of this offer provides the user with the following options:

• unlimited traffic in your home region;
• 25 GB of Internet for surfing;
• 500 minutes for communication throughout the country;
• 500 SMS to be sent to any subscriber located in Russia.

By purchasing additional services, the user can easily increase the package volume of minutes, SMS messages or megabytes. The cost of this tariff is 650 rubles per month.

"Our Smart" from MTS

As part of this package, the user is provided with a set of services:

• unlimited access to the global network;
• unlimited number of minutes for communication throughout the country within MTS;
• 1500 minutes for calls to subscribers of other operators in the home region;
• 1500 messages to be sent to subscribers of any operator in their home region.

The subscription fee for using this tariff is 1040 rubles.

Reviews about mobile operators

At this point, we collected the general impression of users about operators, based on their publications on review aggregators, forums and social networks.

MTS

Users consider one of the main advantages of MTS to be the fact that it has good reception everywhere and allows you to call from almost anywhere in Russia. The signal does not disappear even outside of large cities, and directly on their territory it is consistently good everywhere. MTS is the most popular operator in the Russian Federation, with about 78 million users, according to whom it is the best telecom operator in the country.

MTS is often noticed to be cunning when announcing the terms of new tariffs, which have a large number of restrictions indicated in fine print. Users also complain about paid services being connected without the subscriber’s knowledge. However, the problem is not widespread and indignation is most often heard from subscribers who do not understand their tariffs.

More disadvantages that irritate users:

• It's hard to get through to Live Support.
• In salons, users who are far from technology are forced to use unnecessary services.

As for the rest, MTS fully justifies its leading position in the mobile communication services market. They have consistently high Internet speeds, good connections, and affordable tariffs.

Megaphone

MegaFon began installing 4G towers earlier than other competitors, which firmly secured its title as the operator with the fastest mobile Internet, and this is true. In addition, MegaFon’s personal account is a very convenient service that surpasses similar applications from other operators in functionality. However, the path to this miracle was thorny and long; MegaFon was previously famous for the anecdotal crookedness of its online services, and the work of USSD teams was far from ideal.

In terms of the frequency of imposing unnecessary services, MegaFon can be compared with MTS. However, inattentive subscribers who like to click anywhere and not read confirmation requests will suffer everywhere. Today, although MegaFon does not have the most favorable pricing policy, it provides consistently high quality communications and mobile Internet. It is noteworthy that the company is trying to retain customers who want to switch their number to other operators by offering them a 50% discount on popular tariffs.

Tele2

Tele2 entered the Russian market later than other operators, and therefore throughout its existence it was forced to play the role of catching up, which, in turn, turned out to be beneficial for subscribers. Despite the relatively small number of cellular towers, Tele2 has normal coverage in most large cities and regions of the Russian Federation, and also provides the most favorable tariff conditions and is distinguished by the highest loyalty to users.

Beeline

Beeline, once one of the most popular mobile operators, has been losing its popularity for several years in a row. Low Internet speed, mediocre communication quality, and less favorable tariffs compared to competitors have an impact. For almost all points of comparison, Beeline was in last place; today there is absolutely nothing to attract new clients from this company and now it is one of the least interesting options for connecting.

This is where the comparison comes to an end; let everyone draw their own conclusions, taking into account the needs, quality of communication and pricing policy of operators in your region. What do you think is the best mobile operator?

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Beeline

The Beeline provider, popular among users, today pleases its subscribers with offers that include unlimited traffic. These include the following TPs:

"Unlimited Internet"

This is the simplest tariff, providing the subscriber with only free access to the World Wide Web. It does not include packages of minutes and SMS messages. According to the terms of this offer, the user pays only 6 rubles per day.

"Everything is allowed"

By paying only 4.06 rubles, the user will be able to freely communicate in all popular social networks and instant messengers. Packages of minutes and SMS messages are not included in this price.

"Close People 3"

By activating this package, a Beeline subscriber will receive the following set of features:

• unlimited traffic;
• unlimited number of megabytes for distribution;
• 1300 minutes for calls to any numbers;
• 300 messages to be sent to numbers of any operators.

Thanks to this offer, the user will be able to share traffic with friends. The subscription fee for using this tariff is 900 rubles per month.

Megaphone

The Megafon company offers unlimited Internet traffic for a monthly subscription fee of 500 rubles. However, you can choose other offers from this provider:

"Warm welcome"

By activating this package, the user will receive:

• unlimited number of minutes for communication with subscribers within the Megafon network;
• unlimited Internet traffic;
• 300 minutes for calls to subscribers of any operators.

The subscription fee for using this tariff is 600 rubles.

“Turn on! Communicate"

This package includes the following services:

• free Internet traffic;
• 500 minutes for communication;
• 100 SMS messages.

The mandatory monthly fee for using the tariff is 600 rubles.

What to look for when choosing

Before choosing one or another tariff plan, you need to decide on your preferences, namely:

• Understand what volume of traffic will be optimal for you. Each operator has different offers, and the amount of traffic provided varies from 2 GB to unlimited.
• Consider the number of minutes needed for calls. Some operators provide the opportunity to choose a convenient number of minutes.
• Decide on the amount you can allocate each month to pay the tariff. It is worth remembering that the more traffic and minutes you need, the higher the subscription fee.

After such simple steps, you need to study the offers of mobile operators and write down the ones that interest you the most.

When you need a large amount of traffic

Many users cannot correctly calculate the amount of Internet traffic they need to access the global network within a month.

A person can use the Internet in the following situations:

• watching YouTube videos daily;
• using games online on a mobile device;
• watching movies and TV series online;
• Frequent use of social networks and instant messengers for communication and video calls.

For such users, Internet tariff plans with large and very large volumes of package megabytes will become profitable.

Let's move on to the test. How did you measure it, what results did you get?

We used the publicly available OOKLA Speedtest Custom service. For those who don’t know, OOKLA is the most popular Internet speed test site in the world, visited by more than 140 million people every month.

Through Speedtest Custom, we posted a public testing code on iPhones.ru, from which we received data once every 24 hours.

This data is partially anonymized - from it we cannot understand who exactly carried out the measurement. IP addresses are masked exactly half, and geolocation is recorded only for the nearest town or region.

Review of mobile Internet tariff plans for distribution

Today, many users can share free traffic with friends.

This opportunity is provided by separate offers from the following companies:

• MTS;
• Megaphone;
• Beeline;
• Rostelecom;

Each tariff plan has its own characteristics that must be taken into account when choosing a package.

The following Internet tariff plans for individuals are popular:

1. MTS. This provider offers to use the “Tariffishche” package to distribute traffic to various client devices. The subscription fee for using the services is 650-1550 rubles, depending on the selected and activated package options. As part of this TP, the user will be able to distribute only 3 GB of Internet traffic for free. Exceeding this limit activates daily billing at a rate of 75 rubles.
2. Megaphone. Tariff “Turn on! Communicate" allows the subscriber to easily share free footage with friends. For 600 rubles per month, the owner of this tariff plan receives 600 minutes for calls, unlimited Internet with the possibility of unlimited distribution.
3. Beeline. TP "Anlim" with a monthly fee of 600 rubles includes 500 minutes for communication, an unlimited amount of traffic with the possibility of distribution. Activation of the distribution is paid, you can connect for an hour for 50 rubles. or for a day for 150 rubles.
4. Rostelecom. The “Endless Story” package is paid at a rate of 500 rubles per month. As part of this offer, the owner will receive 500 minutes for calls, 50 SMS for sending, unlimited internet with the possibility of distribution.

To distribute traffic from a smartphone or tablet, the user should check the device to support this function. Otherwise, it will be impossible to share megabytes.

Tariffs for landline Internet: comparison of all operators

Today, almost all apartments and private houses have a personal computer, laptop or Wi-Fi router, which are connected to the home wired Internet using a cable. Thanks to the variety of tariff plans from different providers, each user will be able to choose the best option for unlimited wired Internet.

The most favorable rates include the following offers:

1. MTS. The TP is called “Profitable 50”. The monthly fee is 350 rubles, for which the user will receive access to the global network at a speed of 50 Mbit/s and 100 Mbit/s at night.
2. Yota. The monthly payment for using the “Everyone has their own Iota” package is 500 rubles. As part of this offer, the subscriber will receive a data transfer speed of 2.1 Mbit/s.
3. Beeline. TP “Unlimit 500 promo” with a monthly fee of 500 rubles. Internet access speed is 50 Mbit/sec.
4. Rostelecom. “Internet Everywhere 100” is characterized by high-speed home Internet, mobile traffic at a zero rate, as well as bonuses in the form of a TV connection, 50 SMS and 200 minutes for communication. Network equipment is already included in the subscription fee.

Regular promotions allow the subscriber to receive additional benefits and reduce costs.

Let's sum it up

Choosing a telecom operator is more difficult than finding a person by phone number. Various nuances need to be taken into account. If connection speed is most important, then it is better to go with Megafon. The most profitable Internet is provided by Yota. Fans of unlimited surfing at a reasonable price should take a closer look at Beeline. All tests were carried out by the creator of the Speedtest application, with which you can check your Internet speed.

The best tariffs for modem users

Mobile USB modems allow device owners to stay connected anywhere in the country. Many providers have developed separate packages for modems.

The most profitable offers today include the following:

1. Beeline. TP “For computer” is paid at a rate of 900 rubles per month. Under the terms of this package, the owner will receive 30 GB of traffic and unlimited access to the global network at night. Connection is paid at a rate of 300 rubles, which will allow you to use 10 GB of Internet for 2 weeks.
2. MTS. TP “For a laptop” with a monthly fee of 800 rubles includes unlimited Internet traffic at a speed of 4 Mbit/sec. For working with file sharing services, the speed is low: 512 Kbps.
3. Megaphone. Package “Pump Up! Easy” is paid at a rate of 700 rubles monthly. It includes free Internet access at a speed of 4 Mbit/sec. A special feature of this proposal is the absence of restrictions.

Yota company offers its own conditions for modems. The cost of the package directly depends on the selected speed and validity period.

This operator offers the following options:

• 1 day is paid at a rate of 75 rubles;
• 3 days for only 150 rubles;
• 1 month for 600 rub. at an active speed of 10 Mbit/s;
• 1 month for 1200 rub. with a speed of 300 Mbit/s;
• 1 year of using traffic at a speed of 10 Mbit/s costs 5,400 rubles.

Such a flexible system of offers allows you not to overpay and choose the appropriate speed option based on your needs. Regardless of the provider, Internet services can be paid for in any convenient way, including through a terminal.