en.Wedoany.com Reported - In 2025, the operating revenue of Russia's Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) reached 111 billion rubles, with the total number of managed SIM cards exceeding 40 million. Among them, operators providing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) services accounted for 35%. The user base of MVNOs independent of telecom operators exceeded 15 million SIM cards.
According to data from ComNews Research, as of the end of 2025, among the total number of SIM cards, operators providing M2M services held 14.35 million, accounting for 35%. Operators providing voice mobile communication and mobile internet services managed 26.286 million SIM cards, accounting for 65%. Excluding the M2M segment, the size of the Russian MVNO market in 2025 was 109.4 billion rubles, with managed user SIM cards totaling 26.286 million. Among them, quasi-MVNOs (subsidiaries of major telecom operators) consist of three companies: Yota (a subsidiary of Megafon), Rostelecom MVNO (implemented based on the infrastructure of T2, a subsidiary of Rostelecom), and MGTS (part of the MTS Group). Together, they hold over 11.2 million user SIM cards, generating approximately 66 billion rubles in revenue.
As of the end of 2025, the user base of MVNOs independent of telecom operators reached 15.07 million SIM cards, with revenue of 43.4 billion rubles. Among the real user base of these independent MVNO operators, 50% was formed through Mobile Number Portability (MNP) services. The leader in the MVNO market remains the banking virtual operator segment, with the vast majority of the independent MVNO user base (93%) and revenue (76%) coming from banking operators: T-Mobile, SberMobile, GPB Mobile, Alfa-Mobile, VTB Mobile, Solidarnost Mobile, and PSB Mobile.
The ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) in the banking operator segment is the lowest, at 196 rubles. This is mainly because some banks use mobile communication as a tool to enhance customer loyalty, temporarily not pursuing revenue but continuing to expand their user base. A representative of SberMobile's news service stated that as of the end of 2025, SberMobile's user base grew to 6.3 million users, thanks to an aggressive growth strategy, with the number of users increasing by 160% within one year.
In the banking operator segment, T-Mobile, which leads in user base (with 7.14 million users as of the end of 2025), also stands out in efficiency, with an ARPU of 501 rubles, comparable to traditional mobile operators. A representative of T-Mobile's news service noted that the number of new T-Mobile SIM cards added in 2025 increased by 28% compared to 2024. According to the statistical methods commonly adopted in the telecom market, as of the end of 2025, T-Mobile's user base exceeded 7 million people, with an annual growth rate of 12%. The market considers any active behavior of a SIM card within three months, whether it be SMS, calls, or M2M SIM cards (embedded in devices such as ATMs, barriers, or cars). The T-Mobile news service representative further explained that a more reasonable approach is to count based on the number of paying users who have made payments in the current month. By this method, the user base is 5 million people, with an annual growth of 33%. As of the end of 2025, users with two or more SIM cards accounted for 16% of the total user base. Alfa-Mobile, Gazprombank Mobile, and VTB Mobile did not disclose their customer base data.
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