MTS Ukraine officially becomes Vodafone. How to switch from MTS to Vodafone? Instructions, rates, reviews
Transition from MTS to Vodafone if that means, the renaming of the company name took place in 2015. After that, the released tariffs were already at the beginning not with the MTS prefix, but Vodafone. And now, altogether, some outdated MTS tariffs will be disabled. You can learn more about this a little below. But of course we will also consider the advantages and disadvantages of companies under these two brands.
Switching from MTS to Vodafone from the point of view of the subscriber
The MTS company, like its predecessors UMC and JEANS, until recently, did not disconnect its subscribers from service from their current tariff plans. After switching to Vodafone, those who still had MTS tariffs simply continued to use them, while Vodafone started campaigning for new, better deals. One of these is the line of RED tariff plans. We advise you to familiarize yourself with the combinations to go to them:
- RED XS - * 250 * 350 #, - 40 UAH;
- RED S - * 250 * 50 #, - 60 UAH;
- RED M - * 250 * 70 #, - 90 UAH;
- RED L - * 250 * 150 #, - 180 UAH.
Please note that the cost of the transition is equal to the prepayment for receiving services in this tariff for a month. After changing the tariff plan, you can use prepaid services for 30 days. The transition between RED tariff offers occurs within 24 hours after dialing the corresponding combination.
 RED XS |
 RED S |
 RED M |
 RED L |
Indeed, the new tariff plans coming out looked quite attractive. What is the service "", but unlimited within the network! But people, for the most part, are conservative people, and they are in no hurry to change anything. So, for many users, it is still not uncommon to find tariffs with different terms of service.
You can say how MTS differs from Vodafone - essentially nothing, except for the name, but the fact that it was Vodafone who bought MTS, and not vice versa. Vodafone continued to develop what had been rapidly gaining momentum under the old name. Be that as it may, the company honorably continued the MTS business, attracting thousands of new subscribers annually with its terms of service.
What is better MTS, or Vodafone?
Let's try to figure out which is better: MTS, or Vodafone. It is clear that Vodafone, since MTS is already in the past. Don't believe me? Read the news "". If you fall under the category of subscribers who will be forcibly transferred to the terms of a different tariff, you can choose another optimal offer and change the TP yourself.
It is clear that MTS and Vodafone have their own attractive tariffs, which you might not want to leave. But for yourself it is still worth considering the option of switching to a prepaid service. By making a payment once a month, or, if you wish, once a year, you can forget about the need to replenish your account for a long time. This is both beneficial and allows you to establish the necessary social contacts.
For consultations in MTS and Vodafone the same - 111, as well as other service numbers. In technical terms, as we can see, nothing has changed significantly either.
The official websites of MTS and Vodafone Ukraine operate separately from each other. This is probably good, as both have their own unique services and offers.
Conclusion
So we figured out what happened, which company is better, what to expect, and how to act in the event of a forced transfer of subscribers to other terms of service. Periodically disconnected TPs are something natural that should happen. It is better to focus your attention on new products. You can certainly find something delicious there, and be one of the first to try it.
Why is MTS Ukraine becoming Vodafone?
Because we decided to cooperate. It seems they don't quite become a vodaphone. Although if you learn the history of MTS, then it is not the first time they become someone. It’s not even MTS, but UMS, it’s jeans, it’s MTS, now it’s a vodafone. and no one knows where they evolve further.
It has already become known that MTS Ukraine has signed an agreement with one of the world's largest mobile operators Vodafone. The reason for the changes was the desire of MTS to develop a 3G network and provide Ukrainians with high-quality and inexpensive communications. Soon all MTS stores will change their name to Vodafone. Already on the official website, tariff rates have even appeared, you can get acquainted with them here.
I read that today MTS Ukraine lags behind in the provision of 3G services compared to Kyivstar and Life therefore it was decided to cooperate with Vodafone.
At the same time, attention was focused on the fact that the decision on cooperation has nothing to do with the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
MTS has signed a rebranding agreement with the British company Vodafone.
Rebranding, which is now taking place with the company MTS-Ukraine and changes his name to Vodafone - a compulsory measure for a company that wants not to lose customers in Ukraine and profit.
The fact is that due to the situation in the country (political situation), many people, knowing that the company belongs to Russians, began to switch to using other operators. First of all, precisely because the mobile operator is not associated with the aggressor state among Ukrainians.
In addition, rebranding of dates is an opportunity to attract lost customers and new ones at the expense of a new name, new very profitable ones - enticing tariff plans for future customers of the mobile operator.
MTS will have an advantageous opportunity with the introduction of the Vodafone brand in Ukraine, to get access to the developments of the Vodafone company - they were accumulated over the years, while the company existed and developed.
Mobile operator MTS in Ukraine has already announced an agreement with the British telecom operator Vodafone. Both companies want to jointly launch a number of services in Ukraine, which also includes a mobile Internet access service based on 3G technology.
Initially, both brands will operate in parallel, and will completely switch to Vodafone over time. Initially, the stores MTS Ukraine will be transferred to the Vodafone brand; and dealer points of sale. The new brand will not be used in the east of the country, not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities.
Vodafone promises to support and develop Ukrainian 3G networks, offers new tariff plans and promises low roaming prices.
Subscribers MTS Ukraine will be able to use the old tariff plans, but they promise to switch to new tariffs only at the request of the subscriber.
MTS Ukraine really changes its name to Vodafone. This is due to the fact that MTS began to cooperate with another foreign operator - Vodafone.
Better good 3G network will be the fruit of cooperation.
MTS, in order to break the painful association for Ukrainians with Russia, will switch to the British brand Vodafone. It should also reduce roaming rates and accelerate the development of its 3G network. Kyivstar promises to answer
At the end of 2014, the president of one of the two largest operators in Ukraine mobile communications Kievstar Petr Chernyshov said that he would consider the reforms in Ukraine successful if IKEA appears in the country. That did not happen. Instead of a comfortable Swedish furniture company, it has a serious competitor in the person of the second largest telecommunications operator in the world - Vodafone. Under this brand MTS will provide communication services in Ukraine.
Vodafone and MTS pledged to jointly develop third-generation communication networks in the country, repaint stores and signs under the British brand, and also hinted that they would reduce tariffs.
“This event cannot be called epoch-making, as the arrival of IKEA could become, - says the director of the branding agency FEDORIV Andrey Fedoriv - but with skillful marketing, rebranding can save MTS from the image of a Moscow operator ”.
And the head of the analytical department of IC Concorde Capital, Alexander Paraschiy, expects that the operators' new proposals will allow subscribers to save on calls. Moreover, both MTS and Kyivstar will most likely reduce tariffs.
Russian spirit
Vodafone and MTS are long-term partners. The exit of the British brand to Ukraine is the result of the expansion of the so-called exclusive and non-shareholder agreement between the operators, which they signed back in 2008. Thanks to him, they collaborated in Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Armenia.
The new agreement provides for the use of the brand on a commission basis. The exact size was not disclosed. However, according to a source in one of the British telecom operators, this is usually about 2-3% of annual revenue.
According to the general director of MTS-Ukraine Oleg Prozhivalsky, the rebranding will affect not only the name and signs on the stores, but also the standards of the company. They will be brought in line with those adopted by the British company. True, Prozhivalsky did not specify what exactly was meant, with the exception of the use of British data protection legislation.
In order to ensure proper use of the brand, MTS issued a guarantee to Vodafone for about $ 170 million. The British estimated the maximum damage to their brand from possible image losses at this amount.
It is no coincidence that the company talks about data protection. The current brand of MTS, with which the operator has been working in Ukraine for the past nine years, was apprehended by consumers of communication services from the very beginning due to associations with Russia.
“If you go out and ask an ordinary citizen what MTS is, then you can hear that these are Moscow TV systems”,- says Paraschiy.
This association especially began to threaten the operator last year, when a scandal broke out, initiated by the then head of the National Commission for Regulation in the Sphere of Communications and Informatization Petr Yatsuk. He accused MTS of allowing the Russian special services to gain access to the personal data of its subscribers. Then the commission was even going to revoke the operator's license. The company itself explained that the interference in the network was organized from the outside. As a result, MTS retained its license.
However, this could not but affect the work of the operator. Paraschiy notes that in the fourth quarter of last year, the churn of subscribers at MTS was 17.6%, although before that for seven quarters it averaged 6%. The subscriber base decreased by 11% qoq and by 6% yoy. At the same time, Kyivstar reduced its subscriber base by only 0.4% over the quarter and increased by 2% over the year.
“This may indicate the flow of subscribers from the MTS network to Kyivstar”,- says Paraschiy.
It is noteworthy that Kyivstar can also be called a company with Russian roots. It belongs to one of the world's largest operators - Vimpelcom. More than 40% of this company is owned by Altimo, controlled by the Russian financial and industrial consortium Alfa-group of Israeli entrepreneurs Mikhail Fridman and German Khan, whose main business has Russian roots.
In order to distance itself from its Russian origins, MTS began making efforts at the beginning of this year. Then the Dutch company became the main shareholder of MTS-Ukraine. However, this did not change the main thing - the main beneficiary was still Vladimir Yevtushenkov's Sistema company. The latter was accused last year of illegally privatizing Bashneft shares. All charges against him were dropped only after he returned this asset to the state. Experts then associated this conflict with pressure on the businessman from the Kremlin.
Tariff history
The transition to the new brand will be gradual. Under it, the company will launch new products, primarily 3G. We should also expect new proposals for roaming and new tariffs for international calls - this should be helped by the wide international network of Vodafone. The company has not disclosed details yet.
However, what we are talking about, you can understand already now. “The main advantage that MTS gets is the opportunity through cooperation to present lower tariffs in the EU”, - says Paraschiy.
Vodafone is known in the European market for its convenient fares for EU travelers. For example, the Vodafone World tariff allows you to call within the European Union at 19 eurocents per minute. Minute incoming call at the same time it costs 5 eurocents. There are other packages that allow you to communicate in European countries at almost local rates. At the same time, a minute of conversation for a Ukrainian MTS subscriber, for example, from Poland, now costs about UAH 30 (€ 1.2).
Prozhivalsky from MTS believes that cooperation with the British company will help it become a market leader. “Sooner or later we will get ahead of our main competitor,” he says. Paraschiy expects that the main struggle between operators will unfold for the most paying customers, those who travel abroad. If cooperation with Vodafone proves its effectiveness, Kyivstar will have to adjust its tariffs.
Chernyshov from Kyivstar says his company has opportunities to compete. He notes that it already has good roaming agreements thanks to its parent company Vimpelcom, which is among the top ten largest operators in the world.
“It's just that Vodafone has invented beautiful marketing packaging. Well, that means that tomorrow we will do the same if we see them fighting for our roaming clients ”, - says the president of Kyivstar.
He notes that up to 70% of those who use roaming in his company can make calls from Europe at a rate of 0.15-0.18 eurocents per minute.
“So we will strengthen marketing and convince the remaining 30%”, - says Chernyshov.
Finally, cooperation with Vodafone is intended to help MTS accelerate the construction of its own third generation communication network. This is because Vodafone, as the world's second largest telecom operator, can get good discounts on equipment purchases. In addition, the company has experience in promoting 3G products in other markets. Vodafone in all countries primarily provides data services for those with smartphones.
MTS notes that it was precisely because of the expectation of cooperation that the company delayed its construction. Kyivstar is much more successful in this.
“We covered 16 regions and 370 cities ”,- says Chernyshov.
At the same time, MTS has deployed 3G only in the Odessa region.
Almost European history
And yet, the main thing that MTS expects from the rebranding is a change in the attitude of Ukrainians towards the company.
“This is an associative array with Europe, with those aspirations in society that are so popular. This makes it possible to join Europe right now ”, - says the vice-president of MTS Vasily Latsanich.
And it is quite possible to achieve this, Fedoriv believes.
“In the eyes of a mass consumer, not an expert consumer, this is a cool sexy foreign brand”, he says.
But it will require a high level of communication and design. Here you can't get by with something small-town. One of the risks in this case is that the promotion of the new brand in the country will be carried out at the expense of the budget of the Ukrainian company. Vodafone will not be financially involved in this. And the British do not intend to make any other spending in Ukraine either. Therefore, the agreement is called unincorporated. The main contribution of the islanders to the common cause is the brand, the accumulated know-how and tariffs.
Experts do not exclude that the cooperation between the companies will not end there. According to the Russian newspaper Vedomosti, during the negotiations the parties considered the option of granting Vodafone an option to purchase a minority stake. Whether this happened is unknown. Elena Minich, Director of the Department of Innovations and Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Economic Development, prepared similar agreements in other countries. According to her, at the initial stage, entry into the capital is usually not considered. But Vodafone sometimes reserves the right to buy back up to 25% of the shares.
How and when in the uncontrolled part of the Donetsk region (ORDO - separate districts of the Donetsk region, they are the fake "DPR") the mobile communication "Vodafone" will appear, which was cut off there on January 11, is not yet known. In Minsk this week the negotiators approved the "repair work algorithm". But no dates are named.
"Busy signal" is all that can be heard if you are trying to call a subscriber in the uncontrolled territory of Donbass. You cannot contact users of the Donetsk operator Phoenix either directly or through the Russian switchboard. residents of Russia, but others can also use it. Calls to the numbers of mobile operators, which have launched in Donetsk and Lugansk, are blocked from the Ukrainian side by the decisions of the National Commission on Communications, "writes Donbas.
After the DPR group seized the equipment of the Kievstar and Life operators, the only Ukrainian operator in the captured part of the region was Vodafone-Ukraine (in Donetsk it is called MTS in the old way, because it is an unofficial office that remained under occupation). "Vodafonovskie" numbers were used both for calls inside the occupied territories and for calls to free territories. But on January 11, due to equipment damage, the connection was lost. If in the Luhansk region it was possible to restore it thanks to repairs near the city of Happiness, then in Donetsk Vodafone still does not work.
Darka Olifer, press secretary of Leonid Kuchma, the representative of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group of Minsk negotiators, said after a regular meeting in Minsk (which took place on March 14): "Within the framework of the subgroup of socio-economic issues, an agreement has been reached on an algorithm for restoring mobile communications in certain regions Donetsk and Luhansk regions. This work will be carried out by the forces of the company "Vodafone-Ukraine" with the participation of the OSCE in compliance with Ukrainian legislation. "
The coverage area of Vodafone in Donbass has always been the most extensive in comparison with other operators, says Sergey Gorbachevsky, a telecom expert and administrator of the specialized Forum of Ordinary People. In addition, a variety of services, including banking, are tied to Vodafon's SIM cards. It will be difficult to develop their own operators that work at the base stations of Ukrainian providers left in Donetsk and other cities - the official manufacturers of mobile equipment, the so-called "vendors", will not officially cooperate with groups in the uncontrolled part of Donbass, the expert notes.
"Even in the Ukrainian reality, all the main work on launching new networks is done not by operators, but by contractors who are hired by vendors. Suppose, in Dnipro, Kyivstar cut a piece of ZTE's territory. And it finds contractors who are already upgrading the network, maintaining the network. and so on, but Kyivstar itself does not do this, "the expert says, not excluding unofficial support, including from Russia, or the presence of local specialists.
Work at base stations is necessary, first of all, to launch new generation networks, 4G LTE, it will be difficult to deploy them without vendor support. At the moment, judging by the reviews on the forum, Phoenix's networks are not particularly able to cope even with the existing loads, says Gorbachevsky. It is possible to launch a fourth-generation network on a separate base station, but this is just PR, he said.
Problems with base stations are confirmed by the reviews of two residents of Donetsk. One of them told Radio Donbass Realia that it is impossible to reach a smartphone with Phoenix if the subscriber is on the Internet.
"The Phoenix tariff is quite budgetary - 50 rubles. This is" unlimited "within the network and 300 SMS. But the tariff does not have the Internet. If you want the Internet, you need to pay 50 rubles more. The connection has not improved, there are frequent interruptions. This month it happened that you dial the number, but you do not hear the dial tone and knocks it out. Specifically, now some people dial up on the third attempt, "said Alina (name has been changed).
"Today, the connection is already better, the first time I dialed several times. But still not always. Probably, it depends on where the subscriber is. For example, in the center it is normal, but he called to the Biryuzov microdistrict, it’s bad there," said Vasily (name changed).
After the war, another Ukrainian operator, Intertelecom, which operates in a different frequency range, began to enjoy relative popularity in Donetsk. At the end of February, users reported interruptions in work, but now everything is working.
Officially, the provider is not there. "We work only in the territory controlled by Ukraine. The company does not service the base stations located in the uncontrolled territory. The fact that residents in the uncontrolled territory continue to use our services can be explained by the fact that their equipment can receive a signal from base stations. which are located in the controlled territory, "- explained Radio Donbass.Realii in Intertelecom.
At the address of the former service center of the company today there is a Dontelecom store - there you can buy starter packs and terminals for communication. However, the company warns: they are not a provider, they do not have their own network.
Judging by the official website of Intertelecom, there is no coverage in the occupied territories. However, in fact, you can make calls and use the Internet, according to store administrators in social networks.
Recall that in ORDLO (separate areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions - territory not controlled by Ukraine), problems with the Internet also began.
Recall that since January 11, Vodafone Ukraine communication has become unavailable in ORDLO. The reason is cable damage in the area of the village of Yelenovka (the territory of the Donetsk region not controlled by Ukraine), as well as in the area of Happiness (the gray zone between the uncontrolled and controlled parts of the Luhansk region). In this regard, residents began to massively switch to the services of "republican" mobile operators (in the "DPR" - "Phoenix", in the "LPR" - "Lugakom").
In the Luhansk region, the connection was repaired on January 18. The occupants of the Donetsk region did not allow this ... After Vodafone disappeared in the Luhansk region on February 22, in social networks it was already "buried" in ORLO forever. But, fortunately, they were wrong.
In the era of consumption, people are greedy for brands. Especially the world famous ones. Therefore, on Friday, the Ukrainian part of the Internet just pulled away from the news that. Someone shouted about blurring their eyes, someone about the economic recovery, experts explained the causes and consequences, and subscribers, bewildered, tried to understand how it would come back to haunt them. I will try to focus on this.
The topic "Vodafone did not buy MTS" and "MTS did not become Vodafone" was not raised only by the lazy. Does it matter? As domestic experience shows, an external sign usually successfully covers everything that happens inside the operator. A striking example is the Big Three. If, then you will find either Russian capital or a foreign company with the same Russian capital. But as long as the operator does not annoy the user with the sign, no one pays attention to this.
Moreover, when we are talking about the largest international operator. Despite the lack of investment from Vodafone, the very fact of the company's presence in Ukraine gives cause for optimism. The British operator is not one of those who will scatter his own name on all sides - it was not for nothing that the negotiations went on for so long. Vodafone's presence in Ukraine is a step towards a monocultural European community. Good or bad, it is up to each of us to judge.
And we are talking about the benefits for subscribers. Someone (brand lovers like me) will love using a world renowned operator. As they will definitely write in the comments - those who like to walk in a herd. But there are not many of them, and besides moral satisfaction, you will not find any positive here. Let's move on to the more practical advantages of the newly created partnership.
Vodafone 3G
How much seething this topic has caused on the network! Many rushed to explain that the third generation of Vodafone communication is no different from the rest and no one will change the technology of building a network. I completely agree. But what's the difference if "no longer-MTS" finally launches its own network in other cities. The operator delayed the rebranding and now can start launching 3G in large cities with peace of mind. In addition, I have great doubts that MTS, which began building the network at about the same time as negotiating with Vodafone, did not build it the way the British need it. Therefore, the moral of the fable is as follows - we are waiting for the launch of 3G from the operator in the near future.
Rates
Oh yes, . But it is too early to talk about their authenticity - it is not so much the low price of the Internet that is embarrassing, but the small number of other services. Either calls and SMS are not a priority for the operator, or the tariffs will be refined. But the main thing for Ukrainian subscribers is not cheap Internet (although they would like to argue with me here), but low roaming prices.
I have already heard that people travel abroad a little and nobody needs it. But usually the market cannot ignore the fact that one of the players suddenly dropped significantly in the roaming price. I doubt that Kyivstar or life :) will ignore such a problem. And low prices for the Internet will not leave them indifferent either. If Vodafone really offers 5 GB for 90 UAH, then the rest will have to adjust their own tariffs. Otherwise they will be left overboard.
Services
I will not say anything about the services of MTS, since I am not familiar with them. Except for one. When I was writing material on the software, I became a little friends with a fancy subscriber verification system. It turned out that registration requires a PUK code, which can be obtained from the operator only after preparing for the conversation. Another entertaining story was shared by Jonas, who, getting ready for the event, suddenly found out that it takes up to a day to activate the tariff. You might think that the operator was reinsured. But activation took several hours - a bad figure for a high-level company. As well as torment with searches for PUK-code.
It's not a fact that something will change with the arrival of Vodafone. Perhaps you don't really need to change something. But a company with a similar name and authority always cares about its own customers. European service, as we like to say. It is curious that the general director of MTS has not once emphasized the transition to new service standards. Perhaps the company is aware of its own problems.
In any case, the emergence of a new player on the market (and "no longer-MTS" with the reserves and knowledge of Vodafone is such) will give Ukrainian communications an additional impetus in development. At the very least, the emergence of a new network. But, as much as I would not like to try the whole range of services of the new operator, I have to wait. Otherwise, it will not be possible to painlessly jump from operator to operator. And suddenly I wanted to.
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