UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 19, 2016. A smartphone purchased at MegaFon’s outlets throughout Russia cost more than 10,000 RUR on average in the nine months of 2016, the telecommunications provider’s press service reports.

According to J’son & Partners Consulting, 7% of all the sold smartphones cost over 30,000 RUR, whereas two years earlier, their share was only 1%.

‘Smartphones are still the most popular item customers shop for at our outlets. This year, the more expensive 4G devices grew twice as popular as last year. Customers are also interested in LTE Advanced smartphones and often subscribe to MegaBezlimit, our unlimited Internet traffic package,’ says MegaFon Retail’s Urals Director Yegor Zarechnev.

It is reported that Internet connection might be slower on smartphones that were made two or more years ago compared with the connection speed on their modern counterparts. This is one of the main reasons customers are buying newer makes. MegaFon is now offering up to a 50% discount on 185 different phone makes ranging from very basic inexpensive ones to top-of-the-range devices.