There are three mobile phone operators which cover most of the regions of Russia:

• MTS (Mobilnye TeleSistemy)
• Megafon
• Beeline

As Russia is a large country network is separated by regions. It might be that there are different tariff plans in a different region. If you buy SIM-card let's say in St. Petersburg and then move to Moscow (that's a different region) you will have to pay additional charge of national roaming. Surcharge is applied for voice calls, text messages and sometimes to GPRS traffic.

Starting packet

Most of the sim -cards available on a market are prepaid. You may buy them from any shop which sells mobile phone accessory. Usually you have to sign-up a contract in order to get a prepaid-card. So remeber to take your passport with you.

Topping-up

Methods which locals usually use to top-up sim-card:

• Mobile Operator office
• Shops which sell mobile phone accessories
• Self-service machines

For a foreigner who doesn't understand russian the best way is to use shops (although there is no guarantee that cashier is speaking english). Usually u have to fill up a blank (in russian) stating your name, cell phone number, top-up amount and signature. Shops chrage 5-10% commission. Usually you receive money on your sim-card in 10-30 minutes after purchase.

GPRS/EDGE/3G/