The Russian Ministry of Digital Development is currently negotiating with telecom operators to introduce fees for international traffic exceeding 50 GB within 5G networks. Although authorities previously aimed for an October implementation, the lack of technical solutions may delay the rollout.
Officials state that the proposal remains under active consideration, with various volume-based models being discussed. Currently, implementing such charges is technically challenging because 5G traffic is routed through existing LTE infrastructure.
Earlier this year, reports suggested a proposed fee of 150 ₽ for international traffic exceeding 15 GB, with an initial deadline of May 1. These restrictions are part of a broader government initiative to curb VPN usage by pressuring digital platforms.
Industry experts suggest that billing international traffic is possible by configuring packet core elements and billing systems to track data based on IP addresses. However, questions remain regarding the feasibility of performing this traffic classification in real time.
