Russia’s plan to tax VPN traffic faces delays as operators cite technical hurdles

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.

• Russian telecom operators ask to delay the introduction of VPN traffic fees
• Companies cite technical hurdles
• VPN traffic fees are part of a wider plan to reduce VPN usage in the country

Russian telecom operators have called on the Ministry of Digital Development to postpone the introduction of new fees on VPN traffic.

According to the Moscow-based business daily Vedomost, providers claim technical limitations mean their systems will not be ready for the scheduled May 1 rollout.

In late March, Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev instructed operators to levy extra charges on users exceeding 15GB of international data per month.