In November 2020, the volume of communication services provided to enterprises of all activity types reached RUB 184.2 billion increasing by 6.7% year-on-year, decreasing by 2% against October 2020. For 11 months of 2020, the volume of communication services amounted to RUB 1.95 trillion, up 6.1% year-on-year, according to the latest issue (No. 1407) of AK&M Information Agency's "RUSSIAN INDUSTRIES: PRODUCTION, FINANCE, SECURITIES. Telecommunications" monthly paper dated January 27, 2021.
The volume of paid communication services provided to the population in November 2020 amounted to RUB 121.1 billion decreasing by 1.5% against November 2019, while growing by 1.5% against the previous month. The volume of communication services provided to the population in January-November 2020 decreased by 5.1%
In 2020, the Russian telecommunications market declined by 0.7% to RUB 1.73 trillion. According to TMT Consulting's preliminary estimates, revenue from mobile communication services increased by 0.3% in 2020 against +3.3% a year earlier: the operators' subscriber base decreased by 1.3% to 257 million, the penetration of services was 175%. MTS remains the leader in the number of subscribers. The number of SIM cards decreased by 3.5 million: mobile shops were closed during the lockdown, SIM cards were not sold, and the flow of migrant workers decreased. In addition, international roaming was zero, which also affected mobile operators.
Russia's Federal Communications Agency is studying the possibility of domestic licensing for Skype, Viber, WhatsApp and other services used for calls to fixed-line and mobile numbers over the Internet. The study will make it possible to analyze the existing systems for traffic transmission over the web protocol, develop a road map for licensing and prepare related proposals for legal changes.
The requirement for mandatory pre-installation of Russian software on smartphones, PCs and Smart TV sets will take effect from April 1, 2021. The State Duma passed the related draft law in the second reading in December. Earlier, the Ministry of Digital Development determined the list of software comprising about 30 apps recommended for pre-installation.
For an in-depth review, see issue No. 1407 of the "RUSSIAN INDUSTRIES: PRODUCTION, FINANCE, SECURITIES. Telecommunications" monthly paper issued on January 27, 2021. The paper reviews the Russian communications and telecommunications market, including mobile and broadband Internet services, digital TV and online cinema theatres, the Russian regulatory framework and legal innovations influencing the industry, the industry's performance as a whole, innovative strategies and activity priorities for the Big Four operators, including the 5G and MVNO segments, as well as their tariff policies. This is complemented by a brief overview of the stock market and an M&A update, as well as news of the leading industry players.
