In early October, foreign tourists encountered communication and mobile internet problems due to the introduction by Russian mobile operators of a "cooling-off period" for foreign SIM card owners.
The introduction of a SIM card "cooling-off period" was mentioned back in early August by the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Maksut Shadaev. The measure was introduced to combat drones using cellular communications.
Users noted that problems are observed on all foreign SIM cards, regardless of the country of origin.
Presumably, Russian operators have encountered difficulties with setting up systems for 24-hour blocking of foreign SIM cards, as a result of which restrictions affected not only mobile internet, but also SMS messages.
Representatives of operators "T2", "MTS", "Megafon" and Beeline did not comment on the problems. The Ministry of Digital Development also did not confirm that the "cooling-off period" for foreign SIM cards has begun to operate in the country.
