Prices for mobile Internet, a small study

How much is mobile internet? The first, universal and shortest answer: it costs a lot, and mobile operators have no shame and no conscience! However, it’s stupid to expect the conscience of large companies, so I decided to find out how to save as much money as possible on the mobile Internet, without limiting myself too much. Inside - not quite a universal study of the tariffs of Moscow operators for the monthly use of 100, 300 and an unlimited number of megabytes.


For a start, I will explain why I took such figures of mobile traffic. They are based on personal experience. Some time ago I bought myself a new phone (Nokia E63) and immediately appreciated the advantages of “web-mobile” mobile spending time. I listen to music on my phone, and not the perfect sound quality is compensated by the ability to send statistics to Last.fm using the Mobbler program. The second, but the main Internet application is the email client ProfiMail, which constantly monitors the status of my mailbox. Finally, on the way to work and during the smoke breaks, I read Twitter messages using Gravity and news feeds via the built-in RSS reader (which I am looking for a replacement for). When it was necessary to clarify the location of the house, launched Yandex maps. Actually, browsing the web, the most actively eats up traffic, occurs quite rarely, and usually through home or road WiFi.

After a month of working in this mode, the traffic consumption was about 90 megabytes, and this is a good indicator. I did not limit myself in anything, but when the Internet is at home and at work, you use the telephone connection quite rarely. Saving spoiled a trip to another city on New Year's holidays, where the mobile Internet was the only available. Of course, consumption has increased dramatically, in particular, the topics about the Psion 5MX and the old ThinkPad I prepared using the phone as a 3G modem. As a result, the traffic counter for January shows 200 megabytes, and by the end of the month I have to keep within three hundred. From my point of view, this is the maximum amount of traffic that is worth buying for money, and the next step in increasing costs can only be buying unlimited Internet.
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Unlimited fares deserve special attention. Such proposals already exist, and at first they look very attractive. No, I do not plan to abandon the home Internet provider, I still have nothing to replace its stable 10 megabits. But how great it would be to listen at work not to music on your phone, but to Internet radio or Last.fm, connecting directly to the cellular network. Probably, I would subscribe to some podcasts and put a torrent client on the phone (something is doubtful, but you can try). All this would be great if the mobile Internet did not work the way it works now. And he is now working through the train is very unstable. Both at home and at work, my phone shows the presence of a 3G network, but it’s impossible to listen to the radio through it. That works fine, then shut up, then in general the Internet disappears for a couple of hours. And this is at a stream of 64-128 kilobits per second. HSDPA doesn’t support my phone, so I’m silent about modest seven megabits, but where is the promised 384 kilobits? OK, give me at least 128, but that they were all the time! In general, the only reason why now it is worth buying an unlimited tariff is to stop thinking how much you spent there these megabytes. And in general, 2010 is the yard, and we still count megabytes , it's terrible! But go to the calculations.

About all operators

All three Moscow mobile operators have the cheapest Internet, as a rule, available at special “modem” tariffs, with very expensive calls. For example, at MTS, the cost of a call to a landline in the Super Zero tariff is 3 rubles 50 kopecks, and a megabyte of Internet will cost (without additional options) an incredible 8 rubles 45 kopecks from eight in the morning until midnight. The tariff MTS Connect-2 offers the Internet at 3.5 rubles, even cheaper packages of megabytes and unlimited options. But the call "around the city" will cost 5 rubles 95 kopecks.

After analyzing the offers of other operators, I realized that it is quite difficult to combine cheap calls and cheap Internet. The problem was solved in another way: by purchasing another “nokia”, which is used only for talking. I made this choice for another reason: all Internet entertainment is eating a battery at a brisk pace, and you cannot remain without communication. In addition, I did not consider the "apple" tariffs, since I do not have an iPhone. In a separate line, I want to express my indignation to all three operators: in all these options, conditions, marks in small print, you can dislocate the brain! Conditions for the tariff, the cost of traffic packages, limits of no-limit, the cost of connection and the cost of subscription fees, special offers somewhere in the very depth of the site, so that no one can find! It’s as difficult to pick up a cellular tariff as it is to bribe a traffic cop - until the very end you don’t know how much you will spend, and maybe in general - will take away the rights. All this confusion and became the cause of my calculations and writing this topic. I am not sure that I did not miss any special condition somewhere, if anything, correct it. The rest is what happened.

Beeline

This operator has a separate page with a standard cost of traffic on all tariffs. In addition, you can purchase additional megabyte packages, prices for which can be viewed here . As part of the overall strategy aimed at ensuring that the subscriber finally stops understanding how much and for what he pays, there are two more discount options: GPRS-optimization and GPRS-discount . Stop, there is more! There is “ Unlimited Night Internet ”, but I didn’t consider it in principle, because at night the phone is at home and checks mail via WiFi. Everything? Not! The most interesting offer is the Internet packages of 1 and 3 gigabytes , and the price of super-gigabytes in this case is 3.8 times lower than the price of gigabytes from the usual traffic packages. Wah!

If you are a Beeline subscriber and just use the Internet, without buying additional packages, 100 megabytes of traffic will cost you at prices ranging from 495 to 695 rubles. The cost of 300 megabytes will be from 1485 to 2085 rubles. A prepaid package of 100 megabytes costs 400 rubles . There is no opportunity to purchase 300 megabytes, the nearest available option is 450 megabytes for 1125 rubles . At the same time, the “super package” of 1 gigabyte will cost you 495 rubles, and this is at the moment the most optimal offer of Beeline.

The service "GPRS-optimization" sets the price for 1 megabyte at 5.95 rubles, when using up to 50 megabytes daily. For my tasks it is unprofitable. The GPRS-discount service gives a 25% discount on the price of traffic if you use more than 2 megabytes per day, and 40% - if more than 10 megabytes. 100 megabytes of traffic per month is more than 3 megabytes per day. Suppose I really spend at least two megabytes a day. We take the cheapest simple internet tariff - 4.95 rubles per megabyte. Multiply by one hundred, subtract 40%, we get 297 rubles. Plus 30 rubles of the license fee for the service, total - 327 rubles. Cheaper than a package of 100 megabytes, but completely unpredictable. Beeline has virtually no unlimited tariffs, except for a night one that is not suitable for me.

There is another great Internet tariff Beeline called "Internet from unconfigured phone," about him already wrote on Habré here . At one point, I decided to connect a laptop via a mobile phone to the network and incorrectly entered the connection settings in Nokia PC Suite. Himself is to blame, of course, about which Beeline immediately announced an SMS. Before I could do anything, the 250 rubles that were available there flowed from the account. At this rate, the cost of 100 megabytes is ... No, I am obliged to write in bold: 29,500 rubles ! 300 megabytes? No problem, 88.5 thousand, and they are yours. Do not forget to customize your phone!

Mts

MTS provides unlimited Internet service at night , as well as Internet for 24 or 48 hours , but these tariff plans are not interesting for me. On a separate page there are prices for Internet in various tariff plans (open the “How much” tab). The cost of a megabyte is from 3.45 to 8 rubles 45 kopecks. Unlike Beeline, whose subscribers can connect traffic packages on any tariff plan, MTS has such an opportunity only on the tariff plans of the MTS Connect family, all options can be viewed here .

So, 100 megabytes of traffic at standard rates cost from 345 to 845 rubles. A package of 100 megabytes at the tariff "Connect-2" will cost 300 rubles - not bad! 300 megabytes will cost 1035-2535 rubles at normal rates. There is no prepaid package of 300 megabytes, 250 can be purchased for 600 rubles , 500 megabytes will cost 1,100 rubles. Moreover, you cannot connect a new package to MTS after the old one has ended, since “megabytes” are an option to the tariff and are included in the monthly fee, which is charged at the beginning of the month. As I understood from conversations with technical support, if you switched to the MTS Connect tariff, you will automatically be charged a fee for connecting a package of 100 megabytes - this is 180 rubles. If this is done, say, on January 28, then on February 1, another 300 rubles will be written off from you, and you will be available - tadam! - 100 megabytes of traffic! In general, the cost of traffic at MTS corresponds to the prevailing price level, but if you decide to switch to the “online” tariff, it is best to do it at the beginning of the month.

Unlimited MTS tariffs are much more interesting, they are available as an option on the same MTS Connect-2. Information about unlimited tariffs is on this page. For 900 rubles per month, you receive a conditionally unlimited Internet at a speed of 128 kilobits per second. If for three days in a row you gain 1 gigabyte of traffic, the speed will be limited to 64 kilobits per second for two weeks. For 1400 rubles per month you will get unlimited internet at a speed of 512 kilobits per second. In this case, if you download more than 3 gigabytes in 3 days, the speed will be limited to the same 64 kilobits per second for the same two weeks. In general, the offer “for 900” is interesting enough for me, since 512 kilobits per second my phone still does not know how. Interesting so far theoretically, since I do not observe persistence in accessing the Internet using the MTS SIM card: now thickly, now empty, more often - the last.

Finally, MTS has two difficult-to-understand discount options: Internet Optimization and Internet for pennies . "Optimization" provides a 100% discount on the second and third megabytes daily. If I consume 3 megabytes of traffic every day, one of them is paid at full price (3.5 rubles for MTS Connect-2), two more are free. For 31 days I will pay 108.5 rubles for 93 megabytes. Since I decided to calculate the cost of 100 megabytes of traffic on a monthly basis, I will add another 7 megabytes at the regular price and a subscription fee for the service of 3.3 rubles per day. It turned out 235 rubles 30 kopecks. This option is available on all tariffs, but in real terms the monthly fee for the service can eat up all the savings.

The Internet for a penny service allows you to receive a 90% discount on traffic of up to 100 megabytes inclusive every month and a 50% discount on traffic from 100 megabytes and above. This option is also available for all tariffs, and for MTS Connect it turns out the following: 100 megabytes of traffic per month at a price of 35 rubles (cool!) Plus a monthly fee for the service of 200 rubles (bad!). Total 235 rubles, as much as in our example above. We conclude that no matter how diverse such proposals may sound, we will pay equally. Slightly less than when buying a package of 100 megabytes, but I prefer to pay and forget, and not to engage in similar accounting every month.

Megaphone

Megafon has a single price for mobile Internet for regular rates - 7 rubles per megabyte . This is 700 rubles for 100 megabytes of traffic and 2100 rubles for 300 megabytes. There is a useless for me " Night unlimited ". Cheap internet is available on the tariffs " Modem " and " Modem-plus ". The conditions on these tariffs are the same: the 300-ruble subscription fee includes 150 megabytes of traffic, each next megabyte will cost 2 rubles. Thus, for 100 megabytes of data per month, you will have to pay 300 rubles - the same amount as MTS, but, it turns out, with a margin. 300 megabytes per month will cost 600 rubles. Very good offer! The difference between the tariffs lies only in the fact that the “Modem-plus” can be connected only when you buy a modem or a netbook of Lenovo along with a SIM card.

For 150 rubles per month, you can turn on unlimited Internet for 24 hours . There is an interesting option with unlimited internet when using Opera Mini browser (210 rubles per month), which, however, does not fit the conditions of the problem. The " Unlimited Mail.ru " option (3 rubles per day) is no longer suitable.

Does Megaphone have optimization? There is, and, unlike the two other operators, the benefit of the option " Optimal Internet " is much easier to calculate. For 100 (for the Plan Modem Plus) or 150 rubles per month, you have the unique opportunity to download as many data as you like at a price of 1 ruble per megabyte. We try to substitute our conditions: 100 megabytes per month will cost 250 rubles, 300 will have to pay 450 rubles. It is cheaper than the Megafon-modem tariff and, most importantly, the option can be activated on the tariff plan, where the cost of calls will be quite low.

Finally, there is unlimited internet . Cost per month - 1100 rubles. It is more expensive than the MTS, but the default speed is not limited. If you download more than 5 gigabytes, the speed until the end of the month will be reduced to 128 kilobits per second. At the same time, traffic from one in the morning until eight in the morning is not taken into account. Perhaps this is the most reasonable unlimited plan - of the three that are available. True, unlimited Internet is served as a special offer, valid until January 31. I hope that in February this service will not disappear, and maybe even a little cheaper.

Results

The results of the study are as follows. Guaranteed 100 megabytes of traffic from MTS and Megaphone cost the same - 300 rubles (although in Megaphone you will get 150 MB for this money), Beeline - 400 rubles. Various tariff plans with optimization of Internet costs, which can be briefly described as “surprise me”, make it possible to reduce this amount to 235 rubles (MTS), 250 rubles (Megaphone) and 327 rubles (Beeline). The problem is that if you spend not 100 megabytes per month, but 85, 150 or even 20, you won't be able to predict the costs, because the final price depends on the weight of the parameters.

With 300 megabytes of traffic, the situation is more complicated, since MTS and Beeline do not have such a prepaid package. It is easier for Beeline to buy a package per gigabyte for 495 rubles, which is cheaper than 400 megabytes for 1125 rubles. In MTS for 500 megabytes they will take 1,100 rubles, and it is cheaper to pay unlimited internet for 900. In Megaphone, the charging is clearer: 300 megabytes will cost 450 rubles (you can of course pay 600, but why?). As you can see, the difference in cost between different operators is not so big as to urgently buy a new SIM, the main thing is not to drown in the swamp of tariffs, options and promotions, and to choose the most advantageous offer from your telecom operator .

Leapfrog with tariffs when 500 megabytes are more expensive than a gigabyte (Beeline) or more expensive than unlimited (MTS) suggests that operators try to simultaneously attract active and knowledgeable subscribers, and sell megabytes at fabulous prices to those who do not want to understand. I really hope that in six months or a year I will come back to read this topic just to laugh, using affordable and reliable (more importantly!) Unlimited mobile Internet. According to the logic of events, everything goes to that, but whether cellular operators want to act logically is not sure.

Suddenly

The unexpected outcome of this novel is as follows. As a result of all my research, in my “nokii” there is a sim card of MTS, only bought not in Moscow, but in Tambov. The local tariff of MTS Connect-2 is cheaper than in Moscow: so far I have connected a package of 250 megabytes for 300 rubles. At the same time in Moscow, an additional fee for roaming Internet is not charged, and if you wish, you can even connect an unlimited option for 490 rubles. As I understand it, the way to save money on the Internet (but not on calls) is available when you buy a SIM card in the regional offices of MTS closest to the Moscow region, which is quite possible to use while the shop is not covered .

UPD. On the advice of the sky_lord habraiser, I decided to supplement the material with one important point. Different tariffs of cellular operators differ not only in the cost of a megabyte, but also in how the data is rounded off at the end of the session. For example, in the “Monster of Communication” Beeline tariff, the rounding threshold is 100 kilobytes (more precisely, 1/10 megabyte). Thus, every internet connection, even if you downloaded 10 kilobytes, will cost you as much as 100 kilobytes of traffic. At the indicated tariff it is 69.5 kopecks. When connecting a “super package” of 1 or 3 gigabytes, the rounding threshold is reduced to 50 kilobytes; for ordinary packages, the rounding information is not specified. As a rule, in tariffs with affordable Internet (Click on Beeline, Connect-2 from MTS, Megafon-modem is understandable by someone), the charging threshold is 1 kilobyte, which, of course, affects the final bill for the Internet, especially if you pay it by MB.