In 2018, Russia was among top countries with lowest prices of mobile Internet and even saw a 15% drop between May and December.
Lower priced mobile Internet traffic resulted in higher per capita revenues for major local operators, yet legislative novelties (including a 2% VAT growth) may cause a price hike early next year.
Globally, mobile Internet rates per 1 GB of traffic are lowest in Romania ($0.14), Poland ($0.34) and India, and highest in South Korea, UAE, Canada ($16.7), and Switzerland ($17).
To produce the rating, data of 136 mobile operators from 50 countries was reviewed. In the list, Russia is rated 8th with an average price of 1 GB of mobile Internet in December going down to RUR 55.5 ($0.8), partly due to an unlimited Internet access to mobile TV, music and social networks, as well as to the national currency’s volatility.