Numbers 8800

Russian Telephone Market

Main article: Telephone (Russian market)

2024: Russian Number Market Cut of 8800 to ₽9,2 Billion

In mid-May 2025, the TMT Consulting analytical agency published a report according to which the volume of the Russian market for the Free Call service (numbers 8800) in 2024 amounted to ₽9,2 billion, which is 3.1% less than in 2023. The number of customer companies decreased by 1.1% to 54.2 thousand, and the average income per user (ARPU) decreased by 2.6% to ₽14,2 thousand per month.

According to TMT Consulting, structural changes are observed in the Free Call service market. The share of income from the sale of the service when connected in the personal account of virtual PBXs increased by 2.6 percentage points and amounted to 20.1% of the total revenue. At the same time, the share of revenues from the sale of numbers under the agency scheme decreased by 1.5 percentage points to 12.3% of the total revenue.

Rostelecom remains the market leader with a share of 34%. The operator's annual revenues from the Free Call service increased by 2.4%. The company notes an increase in demand for rooms from alternative operators, as well as a shortage of "clean" rooms to meet their needs. On the part of customers, the demand for additional functionality of the service is increasing, interest in the service from the authorities and large businesses remains.

The second place in terms of market share is occupied by MTS with an indicator of 29%, the third and fourth positions are held by VimpelCom (16%) and MegaFon (15%), respectively. Other operators account for 6% of the market. Among the largest players, MegaFon also showed growth, which was due to an increase in the consumption of the service from large customers and an increase in revenue in the TOP segment due to the reprise of calls to the 8800 Hotline option.

In the access code 800 and 804 in Russia at the time of publication, 581,434 numbers were allocated, of which 40% belongs to Rostelecom, 33% to the MTS group of companies, 6% to VimpelCom and 5% to MegaFon^[1]

2021: Market decline 6.9%, to $9.8 billion

The volume of the Russian market for the Free Call service (8800) in 2021 decreased by 6.9% compared to 2020 - to 9.8 billion rubles. This is evidenced by the data of analysts at TMT Consulting, published in early March 2022.

According to them, the market in 2021 showed gradual stabilization after explosive growth in 2020 associated with the beginning of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The Russian market for numbers 8800 at the end of the year amounted to almost 10 billion rubles

According to the study, in 2021 there was a change in the market leader - MTS, which included MTT, outstripped Rostelecom in total annual revenue. The rest of the market participants in 2021 saw a decrease in revenues from the service.

Rostelecom has the largest allocated number capacity in the 8800 code - 35% of all allocated numbers. The share of MTS in this volume is 20%.

The main share of income from the 8800 service falls on Moscow - about 73% at the end of 2021. The Northwestern Federal District took 6% of the market, the Southern Federal District - 5%, the Ural and Volga Federal Districts - 4% each. The main users of the service remain large and medium-sized businesses from the communications, trade, financial sectors, as well as the public sector, analysts say.

It is noted that the development of outsourcing call centers has a positive effect on the market, as well as an increase in interest in the 8800 service from companies working with the regions from the SMB segment, using the services of a virtual PBX (VATS), having reference services and call centers. The share of revenue from the sale of the 8800 service provided in the VATS personal account in 2021 amounted to 12% of the total market volume.

The development of voice robots and other alternative channels of communication with clients has a negative impact on the market - accepting applications through the site, online chats, calling from the site, social networks, OTT services.

TMT Research Consulting on the 8800 Room Market

2019: Market growth by 4.1% to RUB 8.5 billion

The volume of the Russian market for 8800 numbers (free call service) in 2019 reached 8.5 billion rubles, an increase of 4.1% compared to 2018. This is evidenced by the data of the analytical company TMT Consulting.

Despite the decline in the fixed telephony market, demand for the 8800 service remains, experts said. As a rule, users of the Free Call service are large companies operating at the federal level. At the same time, market participants note an increase in interest in the service from small and medium-sized businesses working with the regions using virtual PBX services.

The continued popularity of the service is explained by the fact that the use of the federal multichannel number 8800 not only increases the number and duration of calls from customers, but also creates the image of a solid organization that can be trusted. Connecting the 8800 number to a virtual PBX allows you to use it together in collectoring, as well as integrate it with popular CRM, complement it with intelligent services and other VAS. In addition, leading providers offer an 8800 service with smart forwarding, voice assistant, user-friendly interface and statistics.

Rostelecom remains the leader in the Russian market for 8800 numbers, which accounts for 41% of the total number capacity allocated to operators in the 8800 code. In second place is MTT.

The study said that market participants in the 8800 are noting a slowdown in growth. To reduce traffic by 8800, large companies automate the processing of calls with voice bots, implement balancing devices to distribute load between call centers, and use self-service systems. In conditions of cost reduction, the business is looking for cheaper communication channels with customers - accepting applications through the site, online chats, a call from the site, social networks, OTT services.^[2]

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