Go Back   Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB > Regional Forums > Northern and Central Asia
Northern and Central Asia Topics specific to Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, China, Japan and Korea
Photo by Ulrike Hahnel, Rock Formations on the Lagune Route, Bolivia

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Ulrike Hahnel,
Rock Formations on the
Lagune Route, Bolivia



Like Tree1Likes
  • 1 Post By lbendel

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 6 Jul 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 232
3G in Russia

Hi all,
we've been in Russia for a couple weeks now and we've been testing out the 3G infrastructure to keep in touch with internet. Here's what we've found out, and a few questions that maybe some Russians or others can answer, which could help the next visitors.

First off, there is plenty of 3G coverages from the major network operators (mts, megafon, beeline), but (as you can expect from such a large country) only in major cities and towns. Even 4G in large cities. Most of the large highways are pretty well covered by 2g (voice/edge) networks, but that's not the point here.

We've started by buying a beeline SIM card, easy enough, just show up in a shop with your passport and a few rubles (350, ~6€ for 3GB and some minutes of voice, not bad) and after 5 minutes you're connected.

http://moskva.beeline.ru/customers/products/mobile/services/details/highway-3gb

All good, but after a day or so, we've been disconnected. Of course we were out of reach of a telecom shop by that time, I guess that's the point.. and 1 or 2 days, we were back online. So question :

1. is there some kind of temporary activation on a new SIM that gives you access for some hours until the papers are processed ?

Then there's the pay-as-you-go price. On paper, 350 rub for 3GB (per month) sounds easy enough to understand, only after a week and 2.5 GB or so, we were out of credit and disconnected.. (*102# to get your credit). So we popped in a kafe, most have an ATM-like machine where you can top up your phone. We put 100 rub in the machine and we were back online. So :

2. How does this pay-as-you-go scheme work ? we have hardly used voice at all

Then I went out and bought another SIM for my phone, so we have a backup. It was in Chelyabinsk, I went to a shop and chose megafon just to test out something else. They have a 3g data-only plan for "planchett" (tablet), 4GB for 250 rub (4€), can't go wrong with this, can you ? well.. as before, it worked right away, then it died, then it wouldn't work anymore at all. What the *ç%? we showed up in a shop in Barnaul, and after much russian blabla (we don't speak russian, so that doesn't help), we found out that the SIM was locked to the Cheliabinsk area ! dead SIM after a couple days. Bummer. In addition, the prices differ from one place to another. Here are the plans for Moscow:

Интернет / �МегаФон� Московский регион

3. So here's the scoop : there's not always roaming over all Russia, better ask before you purchase a SIM. Actually, to be fair, they may well have told me that and I didn't get it. As people who've already been to Russia know all too well, 99.999% of the population speaks only Russian.

4. When I needed to input may phone number in the top-up machine, I naively typed in the one that's printed on the SIM package they sell you. Wrong. It's written +7 (909) xxx xxxx. But what you need to type in (and dial, I guess ?) is 8 909 xxx xxxx. How does this work ?

Here's our experience. I hope some others can fill in the blanks and make more sense of this. But overall, our beeline card has been working flawlessly since then wherever there was 3G (H+) coverage, which is many places, even here in Aktash in remote Altaï. And it's plenty fast.

On the other hand, we've found very few WiFi hotspots, much fewer than in other countries like, e.g., Ukraine or Turkey.

Cheers,
Laurent

La Mongolie en 4�4 | Partir. Découvrir. Raconter.
__________________
2- and 4-wheeled explorer and photographer
Overland Aventure
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 6 Jul 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 1,377
Interesting write up.as you can imagine, there are many many tariff plans in Russia, and in most of the regional cities, most people want the cheapest plan, which only covers their region, so by default that is probably what they will propose. To get wider coverage, you can try to ask for a "federalny"(federal) plan, but I'm not sure they'll get what you mean. Best to name your last city in Russia (let's say Vladivostok) and add a "do" and an "a", like this "do vladivostoka". This means "to Vladivostok." Note that "do" is pronounced like "doe",not "do" they still might not understand your pronunciation but it will be fun trying...

I've had slow but adequate wireless Internet access in small towns on the shores of lake Baikal and on the road of bones.very useful. Get a Russian SIM if you come to Russia...

Last edited by motoreiter; 10 Jul 2015 at 12:01.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 6 Jul 2015
trackdayrider's Avatar
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sheffield
Posts: 199
will be interested in replies here.. I'm in Russia in august from Novosibirsk to Vladivostok
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 7 Jul 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Ireland & France
Posts: 142
Can't help, but will also keep an eye on replies (if I can), as I bought a Megafon SIM yesterday. Am currently in Moscow, but will be moving on (by train) today, aiming to arrive - hopefully with my bike - in Irkutsk on 13th.

I'm currently using the phone as a wifi hotspot, and was about to rave about the internet speed I'm getting - but may be I'll reserve judgement.

Thanks, lbendel.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 8 Jul 2015
Contributing Member
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 12
If you don't speak Russian, beware what you buy. You may think the SIM works everywhere but that's not the case. The most attractive plans on all the majors are limited to the area of purchase, they are not national for internet. I have a MTS SIM on their "Smart" plan which works nationwide and for RUB300 per month gives 3gb data plus domestic calls and SMS.

I couldn't find anything of similar value on Beeline or Megafon, in fact, I couldn't find anything nationwide on Megafon but maybe I didn't look hard enough. I'm sending this using the MTS SIM from our overnight stop about 50km from Tulun, a medium sized town 350km from Irkutsk and I have an excellent HSPA connection.

Hope this helps
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 9 Jul 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Ireland & France
Posts: 142
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwicruiser View Post
I couldn't find anything of similar value on Beeline or Megafon, in fact, I couldn't find anything nationwide on Megafon but maybe I didn't look hard enough.
Just to update, my Megafon card and internet access are still fine in Omsk. The deal wasn't as good as yours though, as I paid 500 roubles for a month. On the other hand, since 500 roubles equates to about £6 at tourist exchange rates, I'm not complaining.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 10 Jul 2015
colebatch's Avatar
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London / Moscow
Posts: 1,913
Most of this topic is covered here:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...n-russia-80956

I had pointed out what deals people should go for to get national roaming and truck loads of data. As motoreiter also pointed out above, if you go for the cheapest deals, it will be local region only and you will pay roaming charges that quickly eats up your balance.

Since it is very cheap to get national coverage and loads of data (36 gb a month for about GBP 10 - 890 rubles) I dont recommend anyone going to cheap packages.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 10 Jul 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 232
Walter you're the man, this post is redundant, all answers are on yours. It should be sticky.

Although it doesn't explain why I was out of credit after 2.5GB and 1 week on my 3GB plan, but hey, a 100 rub top up fixed it so I'm not complaining. I will try the 36GB plan next time and hope it won't run out of juice so quickly.
__________________
2- and 4-wheeled explorer and photographer
Overland Aventure
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 10 Jul 2015
colebatch's Avatar
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London / Moscow
Posts: 1,913
Quote:
Originally Posted by lbendel View Post
Although it doesn't explain why I was out of credit after 2.5GB and 1 week on my 3GB plan, but hey, a 100 rub top up fixed it so I'm not complaining. I will try the 36GB plan next time and hope it won't run out of juice so quickly.
As for the strange cut off from service, I dont get that part. Maybe it was a glitch or a one off problem. I have never heard of it before.

Its easy to switch between plans ... you just have to make sure you have enough balance on the account to pay for the first month of the switch ... for example, you are on Beeline ... if you wanted to switch to the 12 GB a month package (700 rubles / 8 pounds a month) you would go to this page (assuming your sim card originated in Moscow)

Услуга Хайвей 12 Гб + ТВ - Мобильный Билайн - Москва

And hit the "Подключить" button on the right, where you will given a code to punch into your phone.

If you are on the road and dont want to have to worry dealing with faffing around topping up your phone all the time, then top it up once with 3 months worth of credit.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
2015 - Heading east from Europe, add your itinerary / plans kim Travellers Seeking Travellers 190 5 Mar 2016 07:38
Poland - Belarus - Russia borders Russki Guzzi Europe 4 25 Apr 2015 18:06
Rode Russia 2014 checkerdd Northern and Central Asia 2 20 Nov 2014 03:32
Real Russia visa agency. Beware, be very aware... chris Trip Paperwork 13 12 Apr 2014 16:12
SIM cards in Russia for Travellers colebatch Northern and Central Asia 1 14 Jun 2012 16:30

 
 

Announcements

Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!

Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now
, and add your information if we didn't find you.

Next HU Eventscalendar

ALL Dates subject to change.

2024:

  • California: April 18-21
  • Virginia: April 25-28
  • Germany Summer: May 9-12
  • Québec: May 17-19
  • Bulgaria Mini: July 5-7
  • CanWest: July 11-14
  • Switzerland: August 15-18
  • Ecuador: August 23-25
  • Romania: August 30-Sept 1
  • Austria: September 12-15
  • France: September 20-22
  • Germany Autumn: Oct 31-Nov 3

2025 Confirmed Events:

  • Virginia: April 24-27 2025
  • Queensland is back! May 2-4 2025
  • Germany Summer: May 29-June 1 2025
  • CanWest: July 10-13 2025
  • Switzerland: Date TBC
  • Ecuador: Date TBC
  • Romania: Date TBC
  • Austria: Sept. 11-15
  • California: September 18-21
  • France: September 19-21 2025
  • Germany Autumn: Oct 30-Nov 2 2025

Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!

Questions about an event? Ask here

See all event details

 
World's most listened to Adventure Motorbike Show!
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...

Adventurous Bikers – We've got all your Hygiene & Protection needs SORTED! Powdered Hair & Body Wash, Moisturising Cream Insect Repellent, and Moisturising Cream Sunscreen SPF50. ESSENTIAL | CONVENIENT | FUNCTIONAL.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)



Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance.

Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.

Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.

Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!


 

What others say about HU...

"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia

"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK

"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia

"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA

"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada

"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa

"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia

"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany

Lots more comments here!



Five books by Graham Field!

Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook

"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.



Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!

New to Horizons Unlimited?

New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!

Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.

Susan and Grant Johnson Read more about Grant & Susan's story

Membership - help keep us going!

Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.

You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.




All times are GMT +1. The time now is 00:24.