Ukrainian operators may reduce the number of minutes and GB after joining EU

After Ukraine joined the pan-European roaming space “Roaming like home”, Ukrainian mobile operators are preparing to adjust their tariff plans. This was reported in an interview with LIGA.net by the president of the Kyivstar company Oleksandr Komarov.

According to him, this is not about raising prices – the changes will affect the volume of services in packages. In particular, operators can reduce the number of minutes and gigabytes included in the tariff.

“Roaming was created as a service for short-term trips,” explains Komarov. “But millions of Ukrainians live abroad for years and continue to use Ukrainian SIM cards. This distorts consumption: they use communications as at home, and this greatly affects the economics of tariffs.”

He emphasized that the current EU rules require the same volume of services to be provided abroad as in Ukraine. In conditions of constant use, this becomes a burden for operators, so gradual adjustments are possible. Most subscribers, according to him, will not feel the changes.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Law No. 12150 — the final step towards including the country in the free roaming zone with the EU. This will allow subscribers to use mobile communications abroad without additional costs, according to their tariff. EU residents, in turn, will receive the same conditions when traveling to Ukraine.

Recall that in June 2025, the European Commission proposed to officially include Ukraine in the EU roaming zone from January 1, 2026. This will be the first direction where Ukraine will receive the status of part of the internal market of the European Union.