The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) stated that since the operator actually provided access to the LTE (4G) network, it opened a case against MegaFon for advertising 5G services. “Kommersant” Refer to regulatory agency information.
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According to FAS reports, the operator released advertisements for 5G services on federal television channels from April to May 2026. The department believes that the advertisement “may create a false impression among users that it is possible to use communication services with 5G technology, which has not yet been commercially implemented in Russia”. It also pointed out that if the advertisement is found to violate the requirements of the advertising law, “countermeasures” will be taken against the operator.
Previously, based on the conclusions of the expert committee, FAS recommended that telecom operators adjust their 5G advertising activities according to the actual situation of the industry before July 3 to “avoid misleading consumers and giving users a wrong impression of the commercial use of 5G networks.” For example, back in February, MTS launched an advertising campaign “5G. Soon.” VimpelCom, in turn, launched an ad campaign with the slogan “5G is included in your tariff, test it out” and MegaFon promoted a “5G Mode” service that increases download speeds.
MegaFon reported that they are confident in the transparency and legality of the “5G mode” service and are prepared to provide all necessary technical and legal basis to FAS in this regard. “We offer our customers up to 60% more internet speed improvements. For comparison: according to independent research, the acceleration brought about by the transition to the 5G standard under current conditions could lead to approximately 20% speed improvements,” stated in the company.
MegaFon also said that there is a “significant advertising campaign” on the market related to the upcoming launch of 5G, so the “Federal Antimonopoly Service’s concern about their options” is understandable. “We believe that, from this perspective, every campaign and advertising practice in the market will attract similar actions from regulators and will be fairly assessed,” – the company added.
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