Russian Phone Networks
In Russia’s landline services, the most important participant is the state monopolist Svyazinvest, presently going through a major reorganization. This company is a result of the Soviet national telecommunication monopoly, and even now, it holds the controlling share of the Russian telecommunication market. Some of these telephone service operators grabbed the opportunity to grow and some even became strong competitors to Svyazinvest. Analysts say that, presently, Svyazinvest holds 60 percent of the landline telecommunication market, and independents own 40 percent.
Long-distance services in Russia are offered mainly the same way as local services. This is also connected to Svyazinvest restructuring, as experts say. This is in part due to the fact that Svyazinvest has a controlling share in Rostelecom, Russia’s long-distance monopolist.
Mobile Networks in Russia
There are three main mobile network companies in Russia: BeeLine, Megafon, and MTS. The services, prices, and coverage provided by these companies are rather alike. Mainly they offer voice and text services. The networks cover most cities and rural regions in European part of Russia. They cover main Siberian cities, as well. There are some areas, like small villages, that have no coverage at all. They are so-called “blank spots.”
In addition, a number of local operators provide services in local networks. They do not generally offer national services, and phone calls outside their networks are very expensive. For instance, the local operator BaikalWestCom (Irkuts) offers service only in Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude. To call via their network to Moscow would be very expensive. When travelling in Russia, using mobile phone services is a good idea, since it is usually much cheaper than calling from a hotel room.
How to call Russia from another country
The country code for Russia is “7.” Thus, when you use phone services in another country to call Russia, do not forget to dial “7” before dialing the code of the city you are calling to and the phone number you want to reach.