The largest Russian mobile operators, MegaFon, MTS, and T2, have asked the management of VimpelCom (which operates under the Beeline brand) to stop a promotion that violates the "balance of interests". This refers to payments to a user's account for incoming calls from other operators.
The trio of operators sent a collective letter stating that VimpelCom's actions could lead to their losses. Furthermore, they threatened to appeal to the court and the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) if the competitor does not respond to the complaint.
How does Beeline attract customers?
In mid-November, Beeline announced discounts for new subscribers. In particular, when switching from another mobile operator, the customer receives a permanent 50% discount on communication services. In addition, the operator pledged to pay 50 kopecks to the mobile phone account for each minute of incoming calls.
What do the FAS and VimpelCom themselves say about this practice?
The FAS promised to consider the appeal, if it is received by the agency, for compliance with current antimonopoly legislation. If there are grounds, measures will be taken, they assured.
VimpelCom stated that they are not going to curtail the promotion. The company assured that their bonus program is similar to bank cashback. That is, the credit institution transfers to the client "part of the interbank commission that it receives for processing an incoming payment authorization request", explained the company representative.