Russians going on vacation or on a business trip are interested in mobile communications in Abkhazia. The small southern republic, located on the Black Sea coast, has always been a favorite holiday destination for Russian tourists. But in the age of mobile technology, the question arises of how to remain accessible while in another country. What is more profitable, purchasing a local SIM card or connecting to a roaming service from your operator, what are the prices for Internet access, we will consider in more detail.
Operators of Abkhazia
There are two mobile operators operating in the country, the coverage area of which is almost the same. Basically, the tariffs of these companies are aimed at local residents and communication within the country. For the convenience of tourists, each of the companies has developed special tariffs that allow them to use all communication services.
Aquafon
The Aquafon company, which provides cellular communication services, offers tourists to use the “Sea” tariff. The cost of the service package is 500 rubles. 350 of them are charged for connecting a SIM card, the rest of the money remains in the subscriber’s account.
Calls to Russia using this tariff cost 9 rubles. in a minute. Incoming calls are free. The cost of mobile Internet is from 5.5 to 6.5 rubles. per MB. When connecting to the “Sea” service package, you can either use additional services of the cellular operator or disable them as unnecessary.
A-Mobile
The “Resort” tariff plan, provided by the second mobile operator in Abkhazia, is similar in terms of use to the previous one. The cost of the package is also 500 rubles, 150 of which are available for use. International calls to Russia are charged at 9 rubles. in a minute. Mobile Internet costs 5 rubles. for 1 MB.
Tariffs and options
To profitably use tariff plans abroad, you need to enable the following options, which make calls and traffic much cheaper:
There is no unity of tariff plans on the territory of Abkhazia. Without using additional options, the cost of calls will be 155 rubles/min. As for the Internet, you will have to pay at least 30 rubles for 40 KB. The cost of outgoing SMS is at least 19 rubles.
The vacationer’s mobile communications expenses depend on the choice of TP. Don't assume that local rates will be cheaper. MTS always meets halfway requirements for its customers and provides the most favorable conditions for roaming. The main thing is to choose the right tariff so that it fully meets the subscriber’s existing needs. Use only those options that are really necessary so as not to overpay.
Roaming in Abkhazia
The largest cellular operators in Russia offer various conditions for connecting to roaming. Some companies have developed special opportunities specifically for visiting Abkhazia.
Tariffing Megafon
The Megafon company provides its customers with a special option that allows them to save significantly. The service is called “Like home in Abkhazia.” Connection cost is 30 rubles, subscription fee is 30 rubles. per day. If the option is enabled, the subscriber will be charged for services as in his home region.
If the roaming option is activated, the price of incoming calls, as well as outgoing calls to Russia or Abkhazia, will be 129 rubles. in one minute of communication. Calls to other countries – 149 rub./min. For outgoing SMS messages you will be charged 19 rubles. Mobile Internet is paid at the rate of 299 rubles. per day.
Tariffication of MTS
MTS also offers several different services when traveling to Abkhazia. The “Zabugorische” option implies a daily payment of 350 rubles. Thanks to this option, all incoming calls are free, and outgoing calls to Russia are paid according to the tariff plan included in the service package. Internet is also consumed from the package included in the tariff.
When connecting the “Zero without borders” option, for 125 rubles. per day, the subscriber gets the opportunity to receive free incoming and outgoing calls for an hour. After this time, the cost of calls will be 25 rubles. in a minute. This package includes 40 KB of Internet traffic.
When roaming is activated on the SIM card of an MTS subscriber in Abkhazia, all incoming calls, as well as calls within the country, to the territory of the Russian Federation and to other countries, will cost 170 rubles. per minute of conversation. The cost of a sent SMS message is 21 rubles. Internet – 35 rub. for 40 KB. traffic.
Beeline tariffication
Beeline offers its subscribers to use a service that costs 200 rubles. per day. For this money, a package of 20 minutes is provided for any incoming and outgoing calls. After the minutes have expired, calls are charged at the rate of 1 minute - 10 rubles. The cost of outgoing SMS messages is 30.
There are two options for Internet access. The daily package is 40 MB of traffic at a price of 200 rubles. After the end of the package, 1 MB costs 5. It is also possible to connect to unlimited Internet. The daily cost of such a service is 350 rubles.
Tele2 tariffication
When connecting to roaming, Tele2 charges its subscribers for incoming calls - 15 rubles. per minute of conversation. Outgoing calls in Abkhazia, to the territory of the Russian Federation and to European countries also cost 15 rubles. in 1 minute. If the subscriber calls to countries in Asia, Africa or Australia, the cost of the call will be 35 rubles. in a minute. When calling to other countries, a minute of conversation will cost 65 rubles.
Internet for Tele2 subscribers can be of two types. If you plan to use the Internet for a short time, then the cost of 1 MB will be 25 rubles. It is also possible to connect to the “Unlimited Internet Abroad” service. For 350 rub. per day it will allow you to use high-speed unlimited Internet.
Options to Reduce Cost
To optimize MTS roaming costs in Abkhazia, the following options can be used:
- “Zero without borders”: incoming calls within 10 minutes during the day will be free, from the eleventh minute their cost will be 25 rubles per minute; from the second to the fifth minute of outgoing calls during the day the same cost will apply (despite the fact that the first minute is 155 rubles, from the sixth minute the cost will also be 155 rubles). Ninety-five rubles will be charged daily for the option.
- Package 100 SMS – allows you to reduce the cost of one hundred SMS to 7 rubles (connected for 700 rubles, valid for a month).
- Package 50 SMS - allows you to reduce the price of an outgoing message to 10 rubles within fifty messages (connected for 500 rubles, also valid for thirty days).
Internet in Abkhazia
In addition to the methods provided by mobile operators in your home region, you can also use free Wi-Fi. But this network is not yet widespread everywhere in Abkhazia, although it can be easily found in the main places where tourists gather.
You can purchase a local SIM card in order to use the Internet. Most smartphones and mobile phones have two SIM card slots. Abkhaz cellular operators offer their subscribers from 600 MB per day at a price of 42 rubles.
Roaming isn't so bad
Are you going on vacation? Sea, mountains, noisy metropolis - no matter where you go, you are unlikely to decide to leave your mobile phone at home. We'll talk about how to properly approach organizing mobile communications while traveling. We assure you that this is not packing a suitcase: everything is much simpler.
Now MTS subscribers don’t have to think about where and how much calls cost when traveling around Russia. The conditions are the same everywhere. So, provided that you are on the MTS network, all incoming calls have become free. The same applies to mobile Internet - now, if you are on the MTS network, then home rates apply throughout the country. How it works? Let's explain with examples.
It's simple: prices for mobile Internet when you are on the MTS network are the same regardless of the region of Russia in which you are located. Users of Smart tariffs and other package tariffs spend mobile traffic from the packages included in the tariff.
If you have a package tariff, say, one from the Smart line, then for short trips the “Home package Russia” option is suitable with a daily fee of 10 rubles, which are debited only if you call while outside your home region and are connected to the MTS network intercity. The fee for a similar option “Home package Russia+” is 100 rubles - this is an option for long trips. Both options make it possible to make long-distance calls using packages of minutes included in the tariff. By the way, the option also works in your home region.
On tariffs without included minutes packages, for example, “Super MTS”, you can activate the “Russia is at home everywhere” option. With it, while you are traveling around the country while on the MTS network, outgoing calls outside the region of your stay to any numbers in Russia will cost 3 rubles per minute (instead of 5.5 rubles). The daily fee for the option is only 3 rubles (for Moscow subscribers - 5 rubles), and it will definitely pay for itself if you call long-distance numbers for at least a couple of minutes a day when traveling around Russia.
More useful services when traveling around Russia: “100 SMS when traveling around Russia” - a package of hundreds of short messages for 180 rubles. Purchase: *111*125#. Package balance: *100*2#. Incoming SMS is free. Calls to the MTS contact center at 0890 are free.
If you are traveling to another country, you need to understand that the basic cost of mobile communication services abroad is considerable. And the best way to protect yourself from significant financial losses is to activate one of the optimizing options.
If your smartphone supports the modern Wi-Fi Calling feature, then you can call at home rates through any Wi-Fi network around the world.
After leaving the limit, the cost of calls will be 39 rubles per minute. You can activate the option by dialing *111*4444 and pressing the call key. The subscription fee is charged daily, so when you return home, do not forget to disable the option using the same command - *111*4444.
In a number of countries (Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Morocco, Moldova, Isle of Man, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Faroe Islands) 30 MB per day will cost you 550 rubles.
MTS subscribers who are also holders of Visa bank cards can use unlimited Internet abroad for up to a month - just activate autopayment on your mobile number.
Conditions for other countries can be read on the MTS website. Activating the option costs nothing, and a fee per day is charged only if you use mobile Internet. Connection and disconnection: *212#. Remaining traffic: *111*217#.
When going abroad, it is also important to know that many phones and tablets, by default, try to update the programs installed on them via the mobile Internet. To prevent this and avoid unexpected expenses, turn off automatic updates on your gadget. On Android OS this is done in the settings of the GooglePlay system application, on Apple gadgets - in the general settings of the device in the iTunes section.
For lovers of the mobile variety of the epistolary genre, MTS has prepared a whole scattering of packages of 50 or 100 SMS for trips abroad. Packages cost from 250 to 700 rubles, the validity of any package is 30 days.
Here are all of them in a list along with purchase commands in increasing order of price: “50 SMS in Europe” - *111*1104# “100 SMS in Europe” - *111*1103# “50 SMS while traveling around the world” - *111*1102 # “100 SMS while traveling around the world” - *111*1101# Checking the remaining package: *100*2#
Calls to MTS support by phone are free. What to do if you run out of money on your phone: Pay with a bank card on the website oplata.mts.ru (Internet traffic is free) or call the contact center +74957660166 for free. Use , “Top up my account”, “Direct transfer” - they work exactly the same as at home.
MTS has a useful mobile application that will help you on any trip. “My MTS” is an excellent and very convenient tool for monitoring the balance of your mobile account and managing all your services. The application uses the Internet, please keep this in mind. Read about the program in detail in our review.
PS Often a person leaving for a trip has a question about how much his relatives will overpay for a call abroad. We answer: not at all, if people call a regular mobile number, and not one purchased at a vacation spot. So take your home number with you, connect the necessary options and relax and relax. to the fullest!
Everywhere is like home Russia
The option is valid on all tariffs, excluding all open and archived versions of the tariffs “Tariffische”, “My Unlimited”, “Smart Unlimited”, “Smart”, “Smart Mini”, “Smart Nonstop”, “X”, “Smart Zabugorishche”, “Smart Top”, “ULTRA”, “Smart light”, “Mobile. BIG", "Smart +", and the option is not valid on the "Smart Device" (open version) and "Smart Device 032017" tariffs.
To enable/disable the option, dial *111*528# call.
The fee for the option is charged once a day (in full for every full or partial day), regardless of the subscriber’s location. The fee for the first day of use is debited when the option is activated.
When you are on the MTS network throughout Russia, all communication services not listed above are paid in accordance with the basic tariffs in force when traveling throughout Russia on the MTS network.
When the option is disabled, outgoing calls and outgoing SMS are paid in accordance with the basic tariffs in force when traveling within Russia.
The option “Everywhere is like home Russia” is mutually exclusive with the options “Everywhere is like home”, “All regions of MTS Russia”, “Favorite region” and “Favorite region+”, “Everywhere is like home 2010”, “Everywhere is like home 2011”, “ United Country”, “Incoming trains in Russia” and all other optimizing options for traveling in Russia.
How to refuse the service
After returning from a trip from the Abkhaz Republic, it is recommended to immediately disable the “ Like at home in Abkhazia ” option. Otherwise, even if you are in your home region, money will be debited from your account for the subscription fee for the service, and you will incur extra costs for the unused service. The methods for disconnecting are similar to those options that are offered for connecting it and are similar to them, with minor changes.
- Go to your personal page on the operator’s website, and in your Personal Account, in the current services section, disable the option in question.
- In the Megafon Personal Account , it is even easier to disable the option, since the application operates directly on the phone. No computer access required. Authorization in the application occurs automatically if a Megafon SIM card is installed.
- USSD request to disable the option is exactly the same as for connecting - *541# , which is also sent by the call button.
- An SMS to disable the option is sent to the same service number, but with the word “ STOP ”.
- Contact the help desk operator at the above numbers. After connecting, ask to resolve the issue of disabling the option, and provide your passport details. In this method, you will have to spend some time waiting to connect to the operator.
- Visit a communications salon , service office or Megafon company store. At any of these places, employees are required to provide you with free assistance in disabling the option, as well as many other services. You will need your passport.
After refusing and disabling the option, a notification about successful deactivation will be sent to your number. This will save you money on your phone balance.
Everywhere feels like home
Additional Information
The option can be activated by subscribers of all MTS tariff plans with the exception of “Business without borders”, “Business without borders for corporate clients”, “ULTRA”, “Smart”, “Smart Nonstop”, “Smart Unlimited”, “Smart Zabugorishche”, “Smart” Top", "Super MTS", "My Friend", Red Energy, Super Zero, Per Second, Guest, Your Country, MTS Connect, Smart Mini (without a package of minutes according to the tariff).
The procedure for charging the daily fee for the service: the fee for the option (daily fee) is charged once a day (in full for every full or partial day), regardless of the subscriber’s location, until the option is independently disabled.
Interaction with other options
— the “Like at home everywhere” option is mutually exclusive with the archived options “Neighboring regions”, “All regions of MTS Russia”, “Favorite region” and “Favorite region+”, “Like at home everywhere 2010”, “Like at home everywhere 2011”, “ United Country"; - with the simultaneous activation of the "Everywhere at home ULTRA" option and the "Everywhere at home" option: outgoing calls to MTS mobile phones in the home region and other regions of Russia are charged according to the conditions of the "Everywhere at home ULTRA" option - i.e. First, the package of minutes is consumed; after the package is exhausted, calls are free;
outgoing calls to numbers of other fixed and cellular operators in the home region (within the package of minutes) are charged according to the terms of the “Everywhere at home ULTRA” option and the package of minutes is consumed, calls in excess of the package of minutes are charged according to the terms of the “Everywhere at home” option;
— with simultaneous activation of the “Everywhere at home Smart” option and the “Everywhere at home” option: outgoing calls to mobile phones of MTS subscribers in the home region, to numbers of other fixed and cellular operators in the home region (within the package of minutes and above the package of minutes) are charged according to the terms of the “Everywhere at home Smart” option; outgoing calls to mobile phones of MTS subscribers in other regions of Russia: on the Smart mini tariff plan are charged according to the terms of the “Everywhere at home Smart” option;
on Smart, Smart+ and “Smart+ for a year” tariff plans, Smart Top within the package of minutes are charged according to the conditions of the “Everywhere at home Smart” option, in excess of the package of minutes are charged according to the conditions of the “Everywhere at home” option;
outgoing SMS within the package under the “Like at home everywhere” option have priority over the SMS package on the Smart+ and Smart Top tariff plans; after the package under the “Like at home everywhere” option is used up, the package under the tariff plans is consumed. On Smart mini and Smart tariff plans, the package is consumed using the “Like at Home Everywhere” option. After using up the daily package, the cost of SMS is determined by the terms of the tariff plan;
It is recommended to clarify the interaction of the “Everywhere at home” option with other tariff options in the descriptions of the corresponding options.
