Roaming between Crimea and Russia is promised to be canceled “by the summer”
Moscow - Simferopol, May 14 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) - The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications promises the abolition of roaming for Crimeans by the summer. True, how exactly the ministry is going to achieve this is still unclear: Ukrainian operators can stop servicing subscribers at any time by order from Kyiv, and Russian operators are afraid to enter Crimea under the threat of sanctions from the United States and Ukraine.
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According to the head of the department, Nikolai Nikiforov, there should be no problems either for those who come to Crimea on vacation, or for local residents who will begin to change their numbers to Russian ones. However, the minister did not give exact dates.
Let us remind you that the transition period, during which telecom operators in Crimea can provide services under existing licenses, is valid until January 1, 2015. In the future, operators will be able to work only in Russian jurisdiction.
It is unknown what kind of operators these will be, but most likely, Rostelecom will be the only mobile operator on the peninsula, since the Ukrainian subsidiaries of MTS and Beeline are afraid to remain in Crimea due to the threat of sanctions from Kiev and the West. However, Rostelecom is also afraid to enter Crimea under its own name, so the little-known company Miranda-Media operates on its behalf on the peninsula.
During the transition period, both the Russian telephone code “+7” and the Ukrainian “38” will operate in Crimea, the ministry reports. However, so far there is no code “+7” anywhere on the peninsula.
At the same time, fees for international roaming with Russia in Crimea should not be charged, Nikiforov noted. How he intends to achieve this is unclear.
The official told Izvestia that the transfer of subscribers in Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian telephone code may require the adoption of a separate federal law. But Russian operators do not work in Crimea, and Ukrainian ones can stop working at any time at the behest of Kyiv - as has already happened with banks, water suppliers and transport companies.
Crimea's roaming with Russia is promised to be abolished "by summer. "