On September 21, 2018, the MTS operator unexpectedly announced that it had closed the connection to the “My Unlimited” tariff and released a new one called “My Smart” to replace it. Let’s break it down into pieces and decide whether it’s worth connecting to it or switching to it for those who use “My Unlimited”.

MTS tariff "My Smart"

Cool!Sucks!

“My Smart” is the same package offer or “constructor” as the closed “My Unlimited”, but with fewer options for choosing the volume of minutes/SMS and traffic and changed, not always in better side, terms of use of packages.

Current version. Rate information updated May 19, 2019.

MTS “My Smart” tariff: detailed description

Summary table of call volume options, SMS and Internet traffic and monthly prices on the MTS “My Smart” tariff for Moscow and the region

Summary table of options for call volume, SMS and Internet traffic and monthly prices on the MTS “My Smart” tariff for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region

For a monthly subscription fee, subscribers receive

• 200/400/600 minutes of outgoing calls to all mobile and city numbers in the home region and MTS in Russia (when roaming in the Russian Federation - to all mobile and city numbers in the host region);
• Unlimited calls to MTS throughout Russia (calls consume the package!);
• Incoming calls within Russia are free and unlimited.
• 200/400/600 SMS to any mobile numbers in your home region (when roaming in the Russian Federation - to all mobile regions of your stay);
• 10/15/20 GB. Internet traffic (it is unclear whether it works throughout Russia or only in the home region);

Brief video review of the tariff

After the end of the packages

• Calls to MTS numbers throughout Russia remain free and unlimited;
• Calls to mobile and landline in your home region - 3.00 RUR/minute;
• SMS to any mobile phone in your home region - RUB 3.00/message;
• Automatically connects additional package 1 GB. Internet for 150 ₽. Maximum 15 packages per month. To disable auto-connection of Internet packages, dial the USSD command from your phone *111*936# .

You can check the balance of packages of minutes, sms and traffic in your personal account, application or using the USSD command *100*1# .

Not included in packages and costs extra

• Supplement for a “city” number - 304.80 ₽ per month (for Moscow and Moscow Region);
• Calls to mobile numbers within Russia (except MTS) - 5.50 ₽/minute;
• Outgoing to CIS countries - 35.00 ₽/minute;
• Outgoing to European countries - 49.00 ₽/minute;
• Outgoing to other countries - 70.00 ₽/minute;
• SMS to mobile numbers within Russia - 3.00 ₽/message;
• SMS to international mobile numbers - 8.00 RUR/sms;
• MMS within Russia - 9.90 ₽/mms;

Pros and cons of the MTS “My Smart” tariff

pros

• You can “distribute” the Internet from your smartphone!
• Free calls to MTS subscribers throughout Russia.
• You can change the package volumes at least daily (but take into account the nuances that I wrote in the information on connecting to the tariff just below).
• Holders of MTS Smart Money cards receive a 100% discount on the subscription fee if one of the conditions is met: the amount of purchases on the card per month is more than 20,000 ₽ or the balance on the card is more than 70,000 ₽.

Minuses

• Unlimited MTS calls within Russia are cool, of course, but these calls consume the package of minutes. A little mean.
• The minutes of calls and SMS included in the package are valid only in your home region; all calls and SMS to other regions, except calls to MTS, are paid!
• Unused minutes, SMS and traffic are not carried over to the next month.
• When you connect/switch to a tariff, a “bunch” of additional options are activated, in particular: GoodOk, someone called you! etc. Be sure to disable services you don’t need through Personal Area, if you don’t want unnecessary “writing off” of money from your account.
• If you insert a SIM card with the “My Smart” tariff into the modem, Internet access will be blocked.
• The volume of minutes is equal to the volume of sms. If I call a lot and text a little and want to choose 600 minutes and 100 SMS? There is no such option and I have to pay for services I don’t need.

Eventually

Once again they are trying to force subscribers to pay more for fewer services. Eg:

• The cheapest package “My Smart” is 200 minutes and SMS and 10 GB. Internet - 500 ₽ per month;
• The cheapest package “My Unlimited” is 300 minutes and SMS and 4 GB. Internet - 480 ₽ per month;

Everything seems to be correct, they reduced the minutes, added internet and the price is almost the same, but on the “My Unlimited” tariff, 300 minutes are valid for calls throughout Russia, and on the “My Smart” tariff - only on calls at home. Do you feel the difference?

The new service is aimed at increasing the operator’s total income from the subscriber over the entire period of his activity, since the longer the client uses the operator’s services, the more revenue it brings him, explains Tele2 CEO Sergei Emdin. He also expects the service to improve payment discipline for packaged tariffs. In fact, we are talking about the fight against the outflow of subscribers and for cash flow, because if subscribers do not pay for the tariff on time, this disrupts the operator’s economy, said the CEO of Tele2.

Remains with towers

Tele2 is not abandoning plans to sell the tower infrastructure, but the operator is not yet satisfied with the offer to purchase it, Emdin said yesterday. The operator’s intention to sell almost all of its towers – about 10,000 – became known in February 2016. He wants to earn at least 25 billion rubles for them, a person close to the company claimed.

The operator announced the new service during the presentation of its new strategy. It follows from it that Tele2 is going to move away from the “hard discounter” model and focus on best ratio prices and quality of services. In addition, Tele2 wants to transform from a telecom operator into an “ecosystem of partners” that meet the daily needs of subscribers in other areas.

Emdin named return of investment to shareholders as one of the goals of the strategy. In 2015, Tele2 received negative free cash flow, it amounted to minus 19.1 billion rubles. And starting from the third quarter of 2016, the company stopped publishing reports. The time when Tele2 reaches positive free cash flow is “not far off,” Emdin promised on Wednesday, but warned that given the entry into a new market for the operator, this will happen “a little later.” He did not disclose target operating results.

From the reporting of Rostelecom it is known that Tele2 remains unprofitable. The loss of the state-owned company (owns 45% of Tele2) from the operator for the third quarter amounted to 1.3 billion rubles. Rostelecom is dissatisfied with this result, but notes positive dynamics: over the previous two quarters, Tele2 brought it 3.5 billion rubles. loss. These are the consequences of the large-scale construction of Tele2 - the operator entered Moscow and built 3G/4G networks in the regions, Rostelecom top managers explained.

Following the launch of the new option, the operator plans to update its tariff line in the near future. Emdin did not disclose their parameters, promising only that they would be more profitable than those of competitors. Providing "accessible mobile communications broad sections of the population" was one of the conditions of a preferential loan of 16 billion rubles issued to Tele2 by VTB Bank in 2015 for the "launch of the fourth mobile operator in Moscow" using a project financing mechanism. The new Tele2 tariffs will not conflict with the terms of use of the loan, Emdin promised.

MTS is working on introducing a service for transferring residual traffic and plans to launch it in the future, said operator representative Dmitry Solodovnikov. The tariffs of VimpelCom and Megafon are designed in such a way that the overwhelming majority of subscribers spend exactly the content that is included in the package, say representatives of these operators. They did not disclose whether the operators plan to transfer unused minutes and traffic in package tariffs to the next month.

The introduction of the service will increase the attractiveness of Tele2, but it will most likely have a negative impact on the operator’s income, say TMT Consulting CEO Konstantin Ankilov and Raiffeisenbank analyst Sergei Libin. As subscribers will consume more traffic for the same money, ARPU (revenue per subscriber) will decrease. Thus, this news is certainly positive for subscribers, but what this will give to Tele2 shareholders is a big question, Ankilov argues. Despite the announced departure from the discounter model, the operator continues to play on the attractiveness for the client, but other players follow his example, as a result of which total revenue in the market is declining.

Libin has doubts about the demand for transferring minutes and traffic. The fact is that traffic consumption is usually uniform from month to month, which means that in order to use up the rest of the traffic and use the traffic of the next month, the subscriber must increase his consumption in one of the months, he says. If he doesn’t do this, then it would be more profitable to simply switch to a cheaper tariff with less traffic. And here the innovation makes economic sense, since the option will prevent some transitions to cheaper tariffs.

If the transfer of unused minutes, SMS and gigabytes to the next month reduces the outflow of subscribers, this will have a positive impact on profitability, suggests Finam analyst Timur Nigmatullin. Having achieved a reduction in outflow, the operator, by reducing commissions to dealers, can significantly reduce sales and marketing costs (at the end of 2015, they amounted to 16.5 billion rubles). In addition, profitability can be achieved by increasing the average tariff cost and moving away from the hard discounter model, he adds.

Currently, only Tele2 provides this opportunity to subscribers.

The mobile operator MTS plans in the future to launch a service for transferring the balance of unused traffic, SMS or conversation minutes to the next month, the MTS press service told Vslukh.ru, without specifying the terms and conditions for the implementation of the project.

Currently MTS has package tariffs Smart line, offering up to 1600 SMS and minutes, Internet traffic from 1 GB to unlimited access per month.

Representatives of other Big Three operators - Beeline and Megafon - told Vslukh.ru that they do not plan to launch the transfer of balances in their package tariffs, since their tariffs meet the needs of subscribers.

Thus, Beeline offers subscribers package tariffs “All in one” (mobile communications, home Internet, TV) and “Everything” (up to 12 GB of traffic, 2 thousand minutes and 2 thousand SMS). Megafon operates a line of “All inclusive” tariffs (up to 2.5 thousand minutes, 12 GB and 2.5 thousand SMS).

At the moment, the service for transferring the balance of unused minutes, Internet traffic and SMS is valid only with the Tele2 operator (“Transfer of balances”) for package tariffs of the “Black” line.

Thus, the remaining traffic, minutes and SMS that were not used in the previous month are transferred to the next month and are spent first. “For example, a subscriber in January has 50 minutes, 10 SMS and 1 GB left Internet traffic. They are postponed to February, first of all, calls, surfing the web and SMS will be deducted from the remainder of the “old” package. If at the end of February the subscriber’s January balances have not been completely used up, and, accordingly, the February package is preserved, then the January balances are burned out, and the unused February package is transferred to March.

The intensity of use of communication services by subscribers is not always uniform; this may be due to work, travel, or family circumstances. Transferring balances is convenient - unused minutes, SMS and gigabytes in one month will allow you to more actively use communications in the next month without additional expenses", explained the director of Tele2 in the Tyumen and Kurgan regions to Vslukh.ru Andrey Shmalev.

The service was officially launched on January 25th. "This is a revolutionary solution for Russian market, since none of the telecom operators have done this before. According to our data, approximately 80% of clients do not use 80% of the minutes and SMS included in the packages. And almost all users of data packages do not use the volume of traffic that operators offer,” Deputy General Director for Product, Marketing and Federal Client Development told reporters in Moscow on January 25 Andrey Patoka.

The intensity of consumption of mobile communication services by subscribers is not always uniform. This may be due to family circumstances, work and travel abroad. As a result, unused minutes and Internet access accumulate on the user’s account. New tariffs allow you to transfer the remaining traffic and minutes to the next month. Thus, subscribers can use the operator’s services more actively in the future without additional costs.

Saving minutes and gigabytes for the next month is a convenient and fair service, but there are some tricks here too. According to the operator’s conditions, the number of transferred call minutes cannot exceed the number of the main package. What this looks like in practice:

• the number of minutes according to the tariff in the current month is 350 minutes;
• the subscriber still has 250 unused minutes left from the previous period;
• taking into account the transfer of balances, in the current month the user will have access to 600 minutes of conversation (250 + 350);
• During the current period, the subscriber spent only 50 minutes; according to logic, there should be a transfer to the next month in the amount of 550 minutes;
• however, the operator will only add 350 additional minutes to the tariff plan, since 550 minutes exceeds the terms of the main package;
• next month the subscriber will have access to 700 minutes (350 + 350).

Implementation of the rest of the Internet

Saving gigabytes for the next month occurs in a similar manner as transferring minutes on the MTS network. The amount of traffic cannot exceed the conditions of the main package; accumulated MB are not cumulative. Therefore, at the beginning, the subscriber uses the saved traffic from the previous period, then the main quota is activated. Unspent MB from the last month that was not spent in the current month are not carried over to the next month.

Saving traffic and gigabytes is a clear example:

• the user is offered 10 GB per month according to the terms of the tariff plan;
• from the previous period the subscriber has left 9 unused GB, which flow into the current period. At the same time, traffic is divided into new and old MB;
• The “old” 9 GB are used first;
• if the user has spent only 2 GB of “old reserves”, and the new 10 remain unchanged, then next month 10 GB will be credited according to the tariff plan and 10 GB according to the balances of the previous month (10, not 17, as it turns out arithmetically).

Important: the new service for transferring balances to the next month is automatic. The user does not need to perform any automatic actions; the summation of minutes and megabytes is carried out by the operator.

What tariffs provide for the transfer of minutes and traffic?

A popular plan is Smart Unlimited. As part of its use, the user is provided with 5 GB of Internet, 500 free minutes and SMS to numbers in the selected region.

Tariff “Smart +” - the subscription fee will be from 175 rubles per week. The user is given 350 minutes to talk with subscribers in his region. Intercity travel is not included in the free services. The MTS Smart tariff also has 350 SMS messages and 7 GB of traffic at the user’s disposal.

“Smart Top” - the terms of the tariff have remained virtually unchanged, except for saving minutes for a future period. The monthly fee is 1600 rubles. This amount includes 3000 minutes to all numbers in Russia, without restrictions by region. The user also has 3,000 free messages and 15 GB of traffic.

"ULTRA" - tariff plan, providing for the preservation of traffic for the next period. The monthly fee will be 2,700 rubles. The subscriber is provided with 5000 minutes, available to all operators in the country. Unlimited communication with MTS subscribers is provided. The tariff includes 5,000 SMS messages and 20 GB of traffic.

How to connect tariffs with transfer of services?

These tariffs require prepayment for the options offered. Upgrading to your chosen plan is free. To switch to a new plan, you must contact your operator or visit a mobile phone store. The simplest and most accessible way is still quick commands.

At the end of January 2017, the mobile operator Tele2 launched an exclusive opportunity to transfer the remaining minutes, messages and Internet traffic to the next month. The ability to transfer the balance of unused services allows the subscriber to use their phone more flexibly and purposefully and not overpay for communication.

Methods for connecting to the service

Many subscribers do not know how to activate the service for transferring package balances to Tele2 to the next month? This service available only to users relevant "Black" packages. When using another package or tariff that is already in the archive, it becomes impossible to activate this option.

The packages of the “Black” line already include automatically connected“remains transfer” service. The subscriber does not need to enter additional commands from the device to connect.

How to enable transfer of remaining traffic and minutes on Tele2? This becomes possible for Tele2 users by calling free short number 630, where the subscriber will be asked to go and connect to favorable tariff from the “Black” family with an active balance transfer service. It is worth noting that the service “transfer of balances” is absolutely free.

For those who are not yet connected to the Tele2 cellular operator, via online store you need to select the one you need tariff package, or buy a SIM card at the salon yourself with active transfer of balances to Tele2 for the next month.

To view the balances on your package account, you can enter the following: USSD requests:

1. *155*0# and the call key - you will find out how many minutes are left.
2. *153# and a beep – the rest of the Internet traffic.
3. *155*2# and the voice call button – the rest of the SMS messages.

However, the user must find out exactly when the transfer of remaining traffic and minutes occurs (usually this happens at the end of the month).

Tele2 subscribers should know that the remainder of the package will be transferred to the next month, provided that there are enough funds in the account to pay the subscription fee. That's when all unused minutes, messages and megabytes will roll over to the next month and be added to the new services. However, the added balances will be the first to be used up in the current month.

The service for transferring remaining traffic and minutes on Tele2 applies to the previous period, but everything further expires. For example, a subscriber used only 100 out of 300 minutes, and then in the subsequent period, out of the remaining 200, 100 remained again, then these hundred minutes will no longer be transferred.

Also note that if you purchase additional traffic, these balances will not be transferred.