UrBC, Yekaterinburg, August 29, 2016. MegaFon Ural’s subscribers are using their mobile Internet connection more often when going to other parts of Russia and abroad, the telecommunications provider’s press service reports.

According to the company press service, their subscribers have sent/received 484 TB of data in roaming networks this summer so far, which equals to uploading over 130m photos onto the web. Most of this traffic went through smartphones, with more than 800,000 units used outside the subscribers’ home network area.

‘Our customers’ Internet traffic appetite is currently at its highest. We lowered the price of using Internet connection abroad considerably, and traffic soared by 28% against last year’s figures. The amount of Internet traffic for roaming networks within Russia rose by as much as 80%. This has to do with our outstanding network coverage and affordability: you can now make calls, send texts, and use the web at a home network’s price if you choose the All-Inclusive option. This is very convenient and comes at no extra charge,’ says MegaFon Ural Mass Market Development Director Sergei Alferov.

Judging by the traffic figures, domestic travel market rose by 6% this year, while international travel market keeps shrinking. Still, MegaFon Ural’s subscribers have gone to 173 different countries this year so far, which is ten more countries than one year earlier. Tunisia and Cyprus made it to the top ten most popular destinations for the first time this year. Kazakhstan, Abkhazia, and Belarus are this year’s top three countries to go to.