Massive mobile internet outages and new number portability rules have triggered the largest shift of subscribers between telecom operators in recent years. In October 2025 alone, more than 617,000 Russians changed operators while keeping their number - an all-time record for the entire history of the service.
According to the Ministry of Digital Affairs, users transferred more than 4.8 million numbers between January and December 2025. For comparison: there were only about 2.9 million such cases in all of 2024. The ministry explained the growing popularity of the service by interest in new tariffs and promotions, as well as the introduction of an "independent arbitration mechanism" in disputed situations. However, experts are confident that the reason is not discounts, but widespread mobile internet outages.
Since the spring of 2025, internet access has regularly disappeared in dozens of regions. The authorities attribute this to protection against drones, but users complain that it is not possible to work stably even "in whitelists" of allowed sites. As a result, many subscribers simply go to competitors in the hope of better communication quality.
Operators can no longer prevent these transitions. Since September 1, 2025, they are prohibited from refusing to transfer a number due to formal errors, such as inaccuracies in passport data. According to Dmitry Ugnivenko, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, the number of refusals decreased by almost a third immediately after the rule came into force.
The possibility of number portability has been in effect since 2013, but so far it operates within the borders of one region. The government is preparing a decree that will allow transferring a number between regions from September 2026. The document has already been finalized and sent to the government subcommittee.
Not all operators are happy with these changes. Beeline warned that interregional transfer will require restructuring the network infrastructure and may affect tariffs. T2, on the contrary, announced its readiness to launch the service on time, noting that they do not expect mass demand.
