MegaFon Expands “MegaFamily” Nationwide, Breaking Down Regional Barriers
Russian operator MegaFon has expanded its MegaFamily service across the country, letting subscribers share voice, SMS, and data bundles nationwide—a move that redefines family tariffs in Russia.
Geography No Longer Matters
Russian telecom operators continue to erase barriers between subscribers. One of the most significant milestones in this direction was the cancellation of domestic roaming. Now, the process extends to tariff options as well.
MegaFon has rolled out a major upgrade of its “MegaFamily” service. Users can now combine relatives’ numbers from across Russia into a single group. Members can share gigabytes, minutes, and SMS packages regardless of where they live.
Previously, MegaFamily users could only connect MegaFon subscribers from their home region or neighboring areas. To enable nationwide coverage, the operator developed a fundamentally new software solution. It marks the first such offering among Russia’s tier-one operators.
No Added Complexity
The service remains easy to use. To activate it, subscribers simply open the MegaFon app and select the “MegaFamily” section to create a group of several numbers.
“Now MegaFamily not only helps optimize costs but also keeps families connected, even across regions,” said Dmitry Rudskikh, MegaFon’s Chief Commercial Officer.
The MegaFamily service, launched in April 2023, allows up to five subscribers to pool their minutes, SMS, and data. Participants also gain access to additional bonus features, such as unlimited access to certain popular apps.
Since the beginning of this year, the number of active users of the plan has grown by nearly a quarter. In 58% of cases, men are the group creators. The most active regions are Taymyr, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Chechnya, Dagestan, and Magadan Oblast. MegaFon analysts note that the most active age group forming MegaFamilies is between 35 and 44 years old.
A Trend Years in the Making
Russia’s major operators have been testing family tariffs for several years. Beeline was one of the pioneers, launching its family plan back in 2016. Today, family tariffs typically allow up to five numbers to be grouped under one account, with payment handled from a single bill. Parents can also set individual spending limits for family members if needed.
MTS allows groups of up to nine people, including subscribers from other operators, though with fewer perks than for core MegaFon customers.
A New Growth Point
Analysts say family tariffs are now a major growth driver for mobile operators. This format is especially convenient for large and medium-sized families: in 73% of cases, groups consist of two to three people who consume about 18–20 GB of data per month. Unlimited bundles for messengers and social networks are particularly popular.
The same trend is evident in the digital storage market. According to Mail’s cloud service, the number of shared family folders and albums rose by 10% in May compared to April. Families increasingly share photo archives, documents, and videos within households or small groups.
Competition among family tariffs is expected to intensify in the near future. Other operators may soon roll out similar solutions to erase user boundaries. Over time, the service portfolio could evolve further, adding features like shared management of smart home systems and IoT devices. Successful models could also be exported to CIS markets.
