Russia weighs charging heavy 5G users for international data as part of its VPN crackdown. For now, the country’s 5G is Android-only.

Source: BBC Russia

The Russian government is once again considering a fee for international data traffic exceeding 50 GB on 5G networks, sources told the BBC Russian Service.

One source in the telecommunications industry said authorities want to use the fee to target VPN services outside the Kremlin’s control.

The fee could take effect on October 1, the BBC Russian Service said. However, a source at one of Russia’s “Big Four” mobile operators — MTS, Beeline, MegaFon, and T2 — said neither the effective date nor the amount has been set.

Reports in late March 2026 revealed that Russia’s Digital Development Ministry had proposed charging for VPN use and imposing fees on international mobile data traffic exceeding 15 GB a month. The BBC later said the average charge would be 150 rubles for each gigabyte over the limit. The deadline for introducing the surcharge was later pushed back until at least the fall, sources said.

On September 11, 2026, the Digital Development Ministry announced the launch of commercial fifth-generation (5G) networks in Russia. So far, 5G is available in only 16 cities, giving an estimated 10 million people access to 5G mobile internet, according to the ministry. Operators can use only the LTE (4G) frequencies already allocated to them; the spectrum commonly used for 5G elsewhere has long been reserved in Russia for the Federal Security Service and the Defense Ministry.

In addition, 5G is available in Russia only on Android devices. The Digital Development Ministry has said that iPhone owners’ access to 5G depends on a decision by Apple.

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Russia weighs charging heavy 5G users for international data as part of its VPN crackdown. For now, the country’s 5G is Android-only.

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Russia weighs charging heavy 5G users for international data as part of its VPN crackdown. For now, the country’s 5G is Android-only.

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