Russia has the world’s fourth-cheapest mobile data costs and the cheapest unlimited data packages, according to new research.
Russia’s top four telecom providers charged an average of 65.2 rubles ($1) per gigabyte of data in 2018, the eighth cheapest in the world. The country’s latest move to give the authorities the power to unplug the national internet network from the outside world risks costing the industry upwards of 134 billion rubles ($2.1 billion) a year.
Russian telecom operators charged 38 rubles ($0.60) per gigabyte in June, according to Russia’s Content Review research agency, almost half the rates in mid-2018.
An average unlimited monthly plan in Russia costs 613 rubles ($9.7) compared to the global average of 2,800 rubles ($44), Content Review said Friday.
The cost of a gigabyte is only cheaper in Egypt (37 rubles), Kazakhstan (29 rubles) and Iran (5 rubles). The global average cost of 1 gigabyte stood at 195.5 rubles ($3.1) in June this year, Content Review said.
Content Review examined 136 mobile internet plans in 50 developed countries.
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