Russia Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 17 Sep 2026 Update History

Report Status: Current

Report Pages: 288

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Russia finally launches 5G, though with suboptimal spectrum

The Russian telecom market is dominated by the western regions, particularly the main cities and economic centres of Moscow and St Petersburg. Many other regions in the country’s east and north were settled as part of government schemes during the Soviet period, aimed at creating population centres and developing local resources. The artificiality of these schemes created cities and towns which are unsustainable, and since the 1990s most of these settlements have seen dramatic population declines as residents have moved further west to European Russia. These outlying cities not only remain a drain on Federal resources, but telcos have also been hard-pressed to justify investing in areas of low population density.

All sectors of the telecom market have been liberalised, with competition most prevalent in the two largest regional markets. The incumbent state-owned telco Rostelecom, which absorbed most of the regional players, in late 2019 acquired the remaining 55% of T2 Russia that it did not already own.

At least in the more populated regions, telcos continue to deploy and modernise fixed-line network infrastructure to offer improved broadband services and a range of IP-delivered content. As a result, the fibre broadband sector has grown considerably, supported by the government’s program to extend broadband to outlying regions. By contrast, the number of DSL connections continues to fall as subscribers are migrated to fibre where available.

5G services were finally launched in September 2026, although only to a small number of cities. 5G has been in preparation for many years, but commercial service launches by the MNOs have been delayed by Western sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the withdrawal of Western equipment vendors. While home-grown equipment has been produced and deployed to fill this gap, the MNOs are still constrained by being barred from using spectrum in the 3.4GHz range, which is used for 5G across Europe.

This report provides an overview of Russia’s mobile, fixed-line telecom, and IT markets. It includes data on key regulatory developments and fixed-line networks, and assessments of telcos’ financial and operating performance. The report reviews major mobile operators together with technologies and mobile data, content and applications.

Key developments:

MTS completes sale of a 49.9% stake in Tower Infrastructure Company (TIC).
Telecom regulator and government impose additional restrictions on WhatsApp and Telegram.
Russia’s MNOs launch commercial 5G services following government prompting.
MNOs make progress in developing domestically-made telecom equipment following the exit of Western vendors.
Bureau 1440 launches the first of a fleet of 900 domestically built LEO satellites to provide broadband services nationwide.
Report update includes the regulator's market data updates, telcos' financial and operating data to Q2 2026, and recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

MegaFon, Tele2 Russia, Skylink, VEON, Volga Telecom, SMARTS Group, Uralsvyazinform, MTS, TransTeleCom, ER-Telecom, MTS, Rostelecom, PeterStar, Synterra Telecom, Comstar, Summa Telecom, MetroMAX, Comstar, Yota, Virgin Connect, Enforta, Golden Telecom

Key statistics
Regional Europe Market Comparison

Market characteristics
Market Leaders
Market Challengers
Market Emergents
TMI versus GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview
Telecommunications market

Overview and statistics

Regulatory environment

Telecommunications Law 2003
Regulatory authority

Censorship

Fixed-line developments

Telecom sector liberalisation
Privatisation
Interconnection
Access
Carrier selection
Universal Service Obligation

Broadband market developments
Mobile network developments

Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
3G licences
800MHz spectrum
900MHz spectrum
1800MHz spectrum
2.6GHz spectrum
Roaming
SIM card registration
Infrastructure sharing

Mobile market

Market analysis
Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

5G
4G (LTE)
3G
GSM

Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT)
M2M networks
Mobile voice

Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE)

Mobile data

SMS/MMS

Mobile broadband
Major mobile operators

Mobile TeleSystems (MTS)
Beeline
MegaFon
T2 Russia/Rostelecom
SMARTS Group
Uralsvyazinform
VolgaTelecom
Skylink
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)

Mobile content and applications

M-commerce
M-payments

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Broadband statistics

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks

Rostelecom
MTS
Beeline
Other providers

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP)
Other fixed broadband services

Broadband Powerline (BPL)
Fixed wireless broadband
Wi-Fi
WiMAX
Internet via satellite

Fixed network operators

Introduction
Svyazinvest

Regional operators

Rostelecom
Central Telegraph
VimpelCom
Multiregional Transit Telecom
TransTeleCom (TTK)
PeterStar
ER-Telecom
MTS

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network

Central Telegraph
MTS
Golden Telecom
PeterStar
Rostelecom
TransTeleCom
ER-Telecom

International networks

Submarine cables
Satellite networks

Data centres

MTS
Rostelecom

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities - Russia – 2027 (e)
Table 2 – Increase in telecom market revenue – 2022 – 2025
Table 3 – Change in B2C telecom market revenue by sector – 2022 – 2025
Table 4 – Change in telecom sector revenue and investment (US$ billion) – 2018 – 2023
Table 5 – Change in telecom sector investment as a proportion of revenue – 2018 – 2023
Table 6 – Growth in the number of mobile number portings – 2015 – 2024
Table 7 – Development of BDD program metrics – 2021 – 2025
Table 8 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Table 9 – Change in mobile service revenue – 2012 – 2023
Table 10 – Change in mobile revenue share by MNO – 2021 – 2025
Table 11 – Change in mobile sector revenue (US$ billion) – 2018 – 2023
Table 12 – Development of MegaFon’s LTE infrastructure – 2014 – 2020
Table 13 – Increase in the number of MegaFon’s 3G and LTE base stations – 2012 – 2021
Table 14 – Decline in the number of SMS sent – 2012 – 2025
Table 15 – Decline in the number of SMS sent per subscriber per year– 2018 – 2025
Table 16 – Growth in the number of active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Table 17 – Growth in the number of active LTE/WiMAX mobile broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 18 – Increase in mobile internet traffic – 2011 – 2025
Table 19 – Increase in mobile internet traffic per subscriber – 2018 – 2024
Table 20 – Increase in mobile internet traffic – 2011 – 2025
Table 21 – Development of MTS’s financial data (Russia, RUB billion) – 2012 – 2026
Table 22 – Development of MTS's capex (Russia, RUB) – 2012 – 2026
Table 23 – Development of MTS’s operating profit and margin (Russia, RUB) – 2012 – 2026
Table 24 – Growth in the number of MTS Russia’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Table 25 – Change in MTS Russia’s mobile voice and data traffic – 2014 – 2026
Table 26 – Change in the number of VimpelCom’s mobile subscribers (Russia) – 2012 – 2026
Table 27 – Development of VimpelCom’s ARPU and MOU (Russia) – 2012 – 2022
Table 28 – Development of VimpelCom’s mobile financial data by type ($ million) – 2012 – 2022
Table 29 – Development of VimpelCom’s mobile financial data by type (RUB billion) – 2023 – 2025
Table 30 – Increase in the number of VimpelCom’s mobile base stations – 2023 – 2025
Table 31 – Growth in VimpelCom’s mobile data traffic – 2023 – 2025
Table 32 – Development of MegaFon’s consolidated financial data (RUB billion) – 2012 – 2026
Table 33 – Change in MegaFon’s capex – 2012 – 2026
Table 34 – Growth in the number of MegaFon’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Table 35 – Increase in the number of Rostelecom’s mobile subscribers – 2017 – 2026
Table 36 – Development of T2 Russia’s mobile revenue (RUB billion) – 2017 – 2026
Table 37 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Table 38 – Change in the number of fixed broadband connections by access speed (ITU data) – 2018– 2025
Table 39 – Change in the proportion of fixed broadband connections by access speed (ITU data) – 2018– 2025
Table 40 – Change in the proportion of fixed broadband connections above 100Mb/s (ITU data) – 2019– 2025
Table 41 – Increase in fixed internet traffic – 2011 – 2025
Table 42 – Increase in fixed internet traffic per subscriber – 2018 – 2025
Table 43 – Development in the number of cable broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 44 – Development in the number of DSL subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 45 – Change in the number of Rostelecom’s fixed broadband subscribers by platform (million) – 2012 – 2026
Table 46 – Development of Rostelecom’s fibre broadband ARPU (RUB/month) – 2019 – 2026
Table 47 – Growth in the number of MTS’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Table 48 – Growth in the number of VimpelCom’s fixed broadband subscribers (million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 49 – Development of VimpaleCom’s fixed broadband revenue ($ million) – 2012 – 2022
Table 50 – Development of VimpelCom’s fixed broadband ARPU ($/month) – 2012 – 2022
Table 51 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 52 – Growth in the number of Rostelecom’s fibre broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Table 53 – Growth in the number of MTS’s GPON subscribers – 2014 – 2026
Table 54 – Growth in the number of VimpelCom’s FttB subscribers – 2012 – 2022
Table 55 – Development of VimpelCom’s FttB revenue – 2012 – 2022
Table 56 – Change in the number of fixed wireless broadband subscribers – 2018 – 2025
Table 57 – Satellite broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 58 – Development of Rostelecom’s financials (post-merger) (RUB billion) – 2012 – 2026
Table 59 – Change in Rostelecom’s capex – 2019 – 2026
Table 60 – Development of Rostelecom’s revenue by sector (RUB billion) – 2019 – 2026
Table 61 – Change in the number of Rostelecom’s fixed subscribers by type (million) – 2012 – 2026
Table 62 – Development of VEON Group’s financial data ($ billion) – 2012 – 2022
Table 63 – Development of VEON’s domestic financial data ($ billion) – 2012 – 2022
Table 64 – Growth in ER-Telecom’s revenue – 2014 – 2025
Table 65 – Development of MTS’s financials (Russia, RUB million) – 2012 – 2026
Table 66 – Development of MTS’s fixed-line subscribers by type (million) – 2012 – 2026
Table 67 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2014 – 2029
Table 68 – Increase in Rostelecom’s backbone network capacity – 2021 – 2025
Table 69 – Increase in international internet bandwidth used – 2012 – 2019
Table 70 – Increase in international internet lit capacity – 2018 – 2025
Table 71 – Increase in the number of Rostelecom’s data centre racks – 2021 – 2025
Table 72 – Development of cloud infrastructure services market revenue (RUB billion)– 2021 – 2025
Table 73 – Development of Big Data and AI market revenue – 2023 – 2025
Table 74 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1998 – 2013
Table 75 – Historic - Telecom sector revenue (RUB million) – 2003 – 2021
Table 76 – Historic - Share of telecom market revenue by type – 2016 – 2020
Table 77 – Historic - MTS financial data (Russia, $ million) – 2008 – 2012
Table 78 – Historic - Rostelecom (pre-merger) financial data (RUB million) – 2008 – 2011
Table 79 – Historic - Mobile service revenue – 2003 – 2011
Table 80 – Historic - Mobile base stations by technology (thousand) – 2013 – 2019
Table 81 – Historic - Mobile ground base towers in service – 2015 – 2020
Table 82 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1995 – 2013
Table 83 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration in Moscow, St Petersburg – 2012 – 2019
Table 84 – Historic - Market share of subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2020
Table 85 – Historic - Active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2013
Table 86 – Historic - Mobile VAS market share by operator – 2007 – 2015
Table 87 – Historic - MegaFon mobile revenue – 2005 – 2011
Table 88 – Historic - Development of MTS’s fixed-line subscribers by type (million) – 2008 – 2011
Table 89 – Historic - Rostelecom mobile subscribers – 2010 – 2014
Table 90 – Historic - MTS mobile financial data (Russia, RUB billion) – 2004 – 2011
Table 91 – Historic - MTS mobile financial data (old style, Russia, $ billion) – 2004 – 2012
Table 92 – Historic - T2 financial data (SEK million) – 2007 – 2012
Table 93 – Historic - M-commerce revenue – 2011 – 2015
Table 94 – Historic - MTS Russia MOU, churn and annualised ARPU – 2001 – 2015
Table 95 – Historic - MTS Russia annualised VAS – 2004 – 2015
Table 96 – Historic - MTS Russia annualised VAS revenue by type (RUB million) – 2010 – 2015
Table 97 – Historic - Rostelecom mobile revenue – 2008 – 2014
Table 98 – Historic - T2’s mobile subscribers – 2007 – 2017
Table 99 – Historic - VEON mobile subscribers (Russia) – 2005 – 2011
Table 100 – Historic - SMARTS Group subscribers – 2009 – 2015
Table 101 – Historic - SMARTS Group financial data – 2006 – 2013
Table 102 – Historic - Internet users and penetration rate – 1999 – 2011
Table 103 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2003 – 2013
Table 104 – Historic - VEON ARPU and MOU (Russia) – 2007 – 2011
Table 105 – Historic - Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2006 – 2011
Table 106 – Historic - Internet users and penetration rate – 2012 – 2020
Table 107 – Historic - Development of VEON (Russia) financial data ($ billion) – 2007 – 2011
Table 108 – Historic - Development of VEON Group’ financial data ($ billion) – 2007 – 2011
Table 109 – Historic - Rostelecom’s subscriber by type (million) – 2008 – 2011
Table 110 – Historic - Development of Rostelecom’s financials (post-merger) (RUB billion) – 2008 – 2011
Table 111 – Historic - Growth in the number of VEON’s fixed broadband subscribers (thousand) – 2008 – 2011
Table 112 – Historic - Development of MegaFon’s consolidated financial data (RUB billion) – 2005 – 2011
Table 113 – Historic - Change in the number of Rostelecom’s fixed broadband subscribers by platform – 2008 – 2011
Table 114 – Historic - Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration in Moscow, St Petersburg – 2006 – 2011
Table 115 – Historic - Growth in the number of MegaFon’s mobile subscribers – 2009 – 2011
Table 116 – Historic - Change in MegaFon’s capex – 2009 – 2011
Table 117 – Historic MegaFon’s mobile data traffic – 2012 – 2019
Table 118 – Historic - MegaFon’s mobile data revenue and subscriber base – 2012 – 2020
Table 119 – Historic - MegaFon’s mobile revenue (RUB billion) – 2012 – 2020

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Europe Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Leaders
Chart 2 – Europe Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Challengers
Chart 3 – Europe Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Emergents
Chart 4 – Europe - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
Chart 5 – Europe – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 6 – Scandinavia/Baltics fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 7 – Northern Europe fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 8 – Eastern Europe fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 9 – Southern Europe fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 10 – Change in telecom sector revenue and investment – 2018 – 2023
Chart 11 – Development of BDD program metrics – 2021 – 2025
Chart 12 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Chart 13 – Change in mobile service revenue – 2012 – 2023
Chart 14 – Change in mobile revenue share by MNO – 2021 – 2025
Chart 15 – Change in mobile sector revenue (US$) – 2018 – 2023
Chart 16 – Increase in the number of MegaFon’s 3G and LTE base stations – 2012 – 2021
Chart 17 – Decline in the number of SMS sent – 2012 – 2025
Chart 18 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Chart 19 – Increase in mobile internet traffic – 2011 – 2025
Chart 20 – Development of MTS’s mobile financial data – 2015 – 2026
Chart 21 – Development of MTS's capex – 2012 – 2026
Chart 22 – Development of MTS’s operating profit and margin – 2012 – 2026
Chart 23 – Growth in the number of MTS Russia’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Chart 24 – Change in MTS Russia’s mobile voice and data traffic – 2014 – 2026
Chart 25 – Change in the number of VimpelCom’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Chart 26 – Development of VimpelCom’s mobile financial data by type (US$) – 2012 – 2022
Chart 27 – Development of MegaFon’s consolidated financial data – 2012 – 2026
Chart 28 – Change in MegaFon’s capex – 2012 – 2026
Chart 29 – Growth in the number of MegaFon’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Chart 30 – Increase in the number of Rostelecom’s mobile subscribers – 2017 – 2026
Chart 31 – Development of T2’s revenue – 2017 – 2026
Chart 32 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2029
Chart 33 – Development in the number of cable broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 34 – Development in the number of DSL subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 35 – Change in the number of Rostelecom’s fixed broadband subscribers by platform – 2012 – 2026
Chart 36 – Development of Rostelecom’s fibre broadband ARPU – 2019 – 2026
Chart 37 – Growth in the number of MTS’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 38 – Growth in the number of VimpelCom’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Chart 39 – Development of VimpelCom’s fixed broadband revenue – 2012 – 2022
Chart 40 – Development of VimpelCom’s fixed broadband ARPU – 2012 – 2022
Chart 41 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 42 – Growth in the number of Rostelecom’s fibre broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2026
Chart 43 – Growth in the number of MGTS GPON subscribers – 2014 – 2026
Chart 44 – Growth in the number of VimpelCom’s FttB subscribers – 2012 – 2022
Chart 45 – Development of VimpelCom’s FttB revenue – 2012 – 2022
Chart 46 – Development of Rostelecom’s financials (post-merger) – 2015 – 2026
Chart 47 – Change in Rostelecom’s capex – 2019 – 2026
Chart 48 – Development of Rostelecom’s revenue by sector – 2019 – 2026
Chart 49 – Change in the number of Rostelecom’s fixed subscribers by type – 2015 – 2026
Chart 50 – Development of VEON Group’s financial data – 2012 – 2022
Chart 51 – Development of VEON’s domestic financial data – 2012 – 2022
Chart 52 – Growth in ER-Telecom’s revenue – 2014 – 2025
Chart 53 – Development of MTS’s financials – 2015 – 2026
Chart 54 – Development of MTS’s fixed-line subscribers by type – 2015 – 2026
Chart 55 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2014 – 2029
Chart 56 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2012 – 2019

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Europe
Exhibit 2 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 3 – LTE launch dates by operator

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Russia Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Russia finally launches 5G, though with suboptimal spectrum

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Europe Market Comparison

Country overview

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views