MOSCOW (Realist English). Sergey Mironov, leader of the A Just Russia – For Truth party and head of its State Duma faction, has spoken out against a proposal by major Russian mobile operators to ban voice calls via messaging apps. He said operators should address their failures in tackling cyber fraud instead of trying to create a monopoly on communications.
Media reports earlier this week said that at meetings with the Ministry of Digital Development, members of Russia’s “big four” operators proposed prohibiting calls through messengers. They argued the move would reduce phone fraud and boost their revenues.
“I have no doubt that profit is the key motive for wanting to drag citizens back into the past,” Mironov said. “Mobile companies are losing money as people abandon voice calls and SMS, but they continue to raise tariffs, including fees for mobile internet — and they do it in sync. I believe the Federal Antimonopoly Service should have long since checked the ‘big four’ for signs of a cartel and acted to curb their appetites.”
He warned that the proposal could lead to a rollback of other consumer gains. “Today they are talking about returning to voice-only communication, tomorrow it could be the return of domestic roaming,” Mironov said, recalling that his party fought for and secured the abolition of internal roaming, saving subscribers about ₽30 billion annually.
“I urge the government not to give in to mobile monopolists,” he stressed.
Mironov also called for operators to strengthen their own anti-fraud measures. “Data from last year show that most scam calls originate from the largest mobile operators. Instead of trying to establish an official monopoly on communications, they should close the gaps in their fraud prevention, improve filtering, and block unwanted calls. And these services should be free for subscribers,” he said.
