Next year, mobile communication tariffs in Ukraine may increase by 50% due to companies' spending on energy equipment, inflation, and tax increases. Media expert and author of the YouTube project "Peregovorka" Oleksandr Glushchenko noted that operators will not be able to sharply raise the cost of tariffs, but their increase during 2025 is inevitable.
Factors influencing tariff increases
Oleksandr Glushchenko explained that the reason for the increase in tariffs is not only investments in energy equipment, but also inflation and tax increases. From September 1, excise duties on fuel, which is consumed in large quantities by generators to support the operation of base stations, will increase in Ukraine. He predicts that subscribers should prepare for a gradual increase in tariffs throughout 2025, which could conditionally amount to 50% from January 1 to December 1.
Calls to mobile operators
Lifecell noted that the purchase and installation of tens of thousands of backup power supplies in a short period of time requires significant additional investments. “We need to find a balance between ensuring connectivity and the ability to provide services to subscribers at an affordable price,” Lifecell emphasized.
Tetyana Popova, the head of the board of the association "Telecommunications Chamber of Ukraine", is confident that mobile operators will make every effort to ensure high-quality communication, not only because of the threat of sanctions, but also for the sake of their image and the loyalty of customers, who may switch to competitors. However, ensuring energy independence requires enormous investments from operators, and without preferences from the state, the costs of supporting mobile communications can lead to a significant increase in the cost of services.
Requirements for mobile operators
Recently, the National Center for Operational and Technical Management of Telecommunications Networks (NCT) amended the requirements for the operation of mobile operators' base stations during martial law. Now mobile operators must ensure the availability of mobile communication services for 10 hours during power outages, instead of 4 hours, as was previously the case. The Ministry of Digital Transformation reported that mobile operators must provide 25% of networks with generators to operate without power for 72+ hours, and the rest of the network must operate for 10 hours on batteries.
Impact of tax increases
The increase in the tax burden affects telecommunications operators, reducing financial resources for investments in network restoration and providing them with backup power. Kyivstar notes that the tax burden limits financial resources for investments and may lead to an increase in service prices.
Kyivstar reminds that on July 1, a law came into force that increases the tax burden on the industry by almost UAH 700 million per year through a specific tax - frequency rent. In addition, additional rent from radio frequency spectrum licenses is expected, estimated at UAH 2.8 billion.
