MOSCOW, 26 March (BelTA) – Roaming charges are supposed to be totally scrapped in the Eurasian Economic Union by 2025, BelTA learned from Member of the Board (Minister) for Competition and Antimonopoly Regulation of the Eurasian Economic Commission Arman Shakkaliyev on 26 March.
The possibility of scrapping roaming charges in the Eurasian Economic Union has been repeatedly raised by heads of government of the EAEU member states. “Today we are at the stage of practical realization of this instruction. An action plan has been worked out to enable conditions for transition to home roaming,” Arman Shakkaliyev said. He specified that the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission is supposed to discuss the plan on canceling roaming charges at a session in April.
In his words, the experience of the European Union and other countries was examined in the course of the work on the plan. “We kept in mind the plan on joint actions of Belarus and Russia: they have advanced slightly ahead in this matter,” the official noted.
Arman Shakkaliyev stressed that technological capabilities of the mobile carriers as well as their concerns about possible frauds are a restraining factor. “Our plan represents an attempt to answer these questions. As for the timeframe, we've chosen 2025 as the horizon: by 2025 we intend to fulfill technical and regulatory conditions for the mobile carriers to be ready to provide these services in a home format,” he said.
The official also added that if Belarus and Russia scrap roaming charges in April (the possibility has already been mentioned), then this step will give a certain nudge to the Eurasian Economic Union as well. “So that we would not wait for 2025 but make steps faster,” Arman Shakkaliyev concluded.
