Hello, how are you? Velcom (Hello - Privet) Belarus. Characteristics of data packets

“I work as a teacher. Parents of students often call me. I wanted to purchase an additional SIM card without a monthly fee. I came to the nearest Velcom point, where they offered me the “Hello” tariff - without a monthly fee. I, happy and carefree, began to receive calls from parents of students and other acquaintances. But the happiness did not last long. I received an SMS from Velcom that I urgently need to deposit at least Bn 2 into my account, otherwise my number will be blocked. I went to the Welkom center, where consultants showed me the intricacies of this tariff: every six months I have to transfer Bn 2 to my account. And this is not a subscription fee, but a fee for a SIM card. Why wasn't I warned about this right away? Anatoly Safonov, Zhlobin."

Svetlana Rodionova, acting Head of the Subscriber Service Department of UE "Velcom":

− The PRIVET service agreement is public, under which communication services are provided to all clients of the company without exception on the same terms. Its provisions are defined in the PRIVET Service Rules, agreement with which the client confirms by signing the PRIVET Subscriber Registration Form. You can view them on the company’s official website at: http://www.privet.by/ru/chto_takoe/ruls_privet/ or in any velcom store. In accordance with the Rules for the provision of PRIVET services, there are four statuses for a PRIVET subscriber - “Active”, “Banning of outgoing communications”, “Blocking” and “Termination of service”.

The “Active” status is counted from the date of initial activation of the PRIVET subscriber, is 365 calendar days (including the day of activation) and subsequently depends on the amount of the one-time payment. After the “Active” status expires, the subscriber is automatically transferred to the “Banned outgoing communication” status. The validity period of the “Banned outgoing communication” status is 60 calendar days from the date of transfer to this status (including the day of transfer). Upon expiration of the “Banning outgoing communication” status, the subscriber is automatically transferred to the “Blocking” status, which is valid for 30 calendar days, and then to the “Service Termination” status, in which he loses the ability to use PRIVET services.

Currently, changing the validity period of the “Active” status, as well as restoring the subscriber’s service from the “Banned outgoing communication” and “Blocked” statuses, is carried out by crediting a one-time payment of at least Bn2 to the subscriber’s personal account. In this case, a one-time payment in the amount of Bn2 to Bn4.99 establishes a new validity period for the “Active” status in the amount of 180 calendar days, and a one-time payment in the amount of Bn5 or more establishes a new validity period for the “Active” status in the amount of 365 calendar days. The company does not plan to change the principle of extending the active status of PRIVET subscribers.

Please note that the tariff plans of the PRIVET line (including the “Our Town” tariff plan you are using) are provided without a subscription fee. The subscriber can use all funds available on the balance of his personal account to pay for the communication services he consumes.

The payment you made on April 6, 2017 in the amount of Bn5 extended the term of the active subscriber status by 365 days - that is, until April 7, 2018, and the payment in the amount of Bn2 - until October 6, 2018.

Information about the status of the personal account and the validity period of the statuses can be obtained by the subscriber from his mobile phone using the USSD request *120# and the call key (without charging a fee).

Additionally, we inform you that, according to the Rules, in the “Banned outgoing communication” status, the subscriber has access to incoming calls and messages (with the exception of MMS), calls to the help desk number 411, and USSD requests.

Thank you for choosing the Velcom Unitary Enterprise as your cellular operator and we hope that the explanations provided will help you in the future when using the company’s services.

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Your questions and complaints.

Austrian Velcom is the strongest competitor of MTS in Belarus. Their network is on par or even slightly better in 3G with excellent coverage of 95%: 2G 3G coverage map, also on 900 MHz. Velcom doesn't have 4G/LTE yet.

Guest Internet for tourists in Belarus.

The Velcom prepaid card is called Privet. Like MTS, Velcom has a travel plan that does not require registration.

Buy a Welcome SIM card.

SIM cards are sold for 5 Belarusian rubles in Welcome stores, called “Branded Centers”.

The monthly subscription fee for data transfer and voice calls is 3.45 Belarusian rubles, including 1 GB of Internet. The SIM card expires one year after the last top-up.

Velcom Belarus balance check:

To check your balance you need to dial *120#.

Disabling unnecessary Welcome services:

These services are enabled by default and are paid:
“Melofon” (callback signal): 0.04 Belarusian rubles/day (1.2 Belarusian rubles/month). To disconnect you need to dial *424*5*1#.
Voice mail: to disconnect, dial *441*1#.
"What's New" (spam messages): The service is free, but if you click "OK" on any of the spam messages, you will have to pay. To disable it, you need to go to the SIM card menu and select: “What’s new”, “Settings”, “Service enabled”, “Disable” and “Confirm”.
Possibility of entering a negative balance. To disable negative balance you need to dial *145*9#.

Tariff plans:

The default Internet tariff is 0.03 Belarusian rubles for 50 KB outside packages. On the travel line you can add these monthly data packages:

Volume Price for 10 days Price for 30 days
50 MB 1.50 BYN 1.90 BYN
250 MB 2.50 BYN 2.90 BYN
450 MB 2.90 BYN 3.50 BYN
900 MB 3.90 BYN 4.90 BYN
1.8 GB 6.90 BYN 8.70 BYN
3.6 GB n.a. 16.70 BYN

To activate, you need to dial *121*1*6# for data transfer speeds up to 42 Mbit/s, where 3G is available. To check the remaining megabytes you need to dial *120*3#. Internet use above the package limit is charged at 0.03 Belarusian rubles per MB in increments of 50 KB.

Other tariffs

To receive other tariffs, you must register with the authorities of Belarus. To manage the SIM card you need to know Russian.

Here is a good overview of internet tariffs for other Privet tariff plans in English. They are too complex to write about and many tourists will stick to the visitor plan without registration.

Velcom Internet settings

APN: wap.privet.by
Username and password: privet

Austrian Velcom is the strongest competitor of MTS in Belarus. Their network is on par or even slightly better in 3G with excellent coverage of 95%: 2G 3G coverage map., and also at a frequency of 900 MHz. Velcom doesn't have 4G/LTE yet.

Tourist tariff plan

The Velcom prepaid card is called Privet. Like MTS, Velcom has a travel plan that does not require subscriber registration with the Belarusian authorities.

The travel plan is sold for 5 Belarusian rubles in their stores called "Branded Centers" (location). The monthly subscription fee for data transfer and voice calls is 3.45 Belarusian rubles, including 1 GB of Internet. The SIM card expires one year after the last top-up. To check your balance you need to dial *120#.

Characteristics of data packets

The default Internet tariff is 0.03 Belarusian rubles for 50 KB outside packages. On the travel line you can add these monthly data packages:

To activate, you need to dial *121*1*6# for data transfer speeds up to 42 Mbit/s, where 3G is available. To check the remaining megabytes you need to dial *120*3#. Internet use above the package limit is charged at 0.03 Belarusian rubles per MB in increments of 50 KB.

Other tariffs

To receive other tariffs, you must register with the authorities of Belarus. To manage the SIM card you need to know Russian.

Here's a good review Internet tariffs for other Privet tariff plans in English. They are too complex to write about and many tourists will stick to the visitor plan without registration.

Disabling unnecessary services

These services are enabled by default and are paid:

• “Melofon” (callback signal): 0.04 Belarusian rubles/day (1.2 Belarusian rubles/month). To disconnect you need to dial *424*5*1#.
• Voice mail: to disconnect, dial *441*1#.
• "What's New" (spam messages): The service is free, but if you click "OK" on any of the spam messages, you will have to pay. To disable it, you need to go to the SIM card menu and select: “What’s new”, “Settings”, “Service enabled”, “Disable” and “Confirm”.
• Possibility of entering a negative balance. To disable negative balance you need to dial *145*9#.

More information

• APN: wap.privet.by (for tourist line)
• Username and password: privet

Official website of the operatorVelcom (Privet) Belarus

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