MINSK, 3 January (BelTA) – The Belarusian Communications and Informatization Ministry and the Russian Telecom and Mass Communications Ministry intend to discuss the scrapping of roaming charges in the first quarter of the year, BelTA learned from Belarusian Communications and Informatization Minister Sergei Popkov.
The possibility of scrapping roaming charges was discussed during the session of the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia in Gomel on 8 December. An agreement was reached to arrange a meeting of representatives of the two ministries in Q1 2018 in order to discuss in detail how roaming charges in Belarus-Russia communication can be dropped.
According to Sergei Popkov, the sides may come up with a roadmap, which Belarusian and Russian mobile carriers will follow in order to scrap roaming charges. The Belarusian Communications and Informatization Ministry has taken a look at the roaming services that Belarusian mobile carriers provide and intends to promptly compile a list of technical and administrative measures, which mobile carriers will have to fulfill if the decision to drop roaming charges is made.
Sergei Popkov believes that the matter of dropping roaming charges in Belarus-Russia cooperation needs thorough consideration on the part of regulating bodies and mobile carriers. “It is also necessary to keep in mind the tasks set by the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty, which expects that the EAEU member states will enforce a universal approach to pricing data transmission services by 1 January 2020,” explained the official.
