In mid-April, telecom operators met with the Ministry of Digital Development to discuss postponing the introduction of fees for international internet traffic exceeding 15 GB per month. Initially scheduled for May 1, the launch was delayed due to technical unreadiness of operators and lack of a regulatory framework. Consequently, in May 2026, it was revealed that the implementation would be pushed back to autumn or even later.
Reasons for telecom operators' unreadiness
Some telecom operators require extra time until autumn to prepare technically, whereas others could have met the original deadline. The main challenge lies in reconfiguring billing systems to separately track international and domestic traffic across dozens of diverse subscription plans. Additionally, companies need to build alert systems from scratch to notify users as they approach their limit.
The challenge of defining international traffic and Apple services
Currently, there is no clear definition of what constitutes international traffic, as many domestic resources rely on foreign servers and hosting. This creates a risk where visiting standard domestic websites could be counted toward the international limit. Users of Apple devices will be affected most, since cloud synchronization, app downloads, and system updates are routed through servers located abroad.
Consequences of exceeding the established limit
Three scenarios are being considered if the 15 GB threshold is exceeded. The discussed measures include automatic extra charges, reduced connection speeds for foreign resources, or a complete suspension of access to the international segment of the internet. Any of these options could significantly disrupt the regular use of cloud storage and instant messaging apps.
Affected categories of users
While the new rules target all foreign internet traffic, they will impact virtual network users most severely, since all their traffic runs through overseas servers. Those at risk include heavy cloud storage users, remote corporate employees, and gamers. A 15 GB monthly limit is consumed rapidly, considering that a single smartphone operating system update can require several gigabytes.
Potential launch dates for new traffic rules
The exact launch dates for international traffic billing remain unconfirmed as negotiations continue. If approved, the initiative will affect all mobile and desktop devices connected to Russian networks. Users are advised to monitor their data consumption in advance, although there is no reason for premature panic at this stage.
With the HiroVPN service, users are reliably protected from potential speed and access issues under any new traffic billing regulations.
