Callback is available for anybody in Russia. After that, callback provider will supply the server's phone number and the customer will be able to use callback services. This requirement prevents many private people from using callback services. However, callback users are not only business people staying in hotels, as was originally planned by callback providers, but also resident expatriates and Russian small and medium-scale businesses. Russian users of callback services claim that they prefer those services because it is cheaper than direct calls from Russia.
Sound quality differs significantly depending on the country one dials.
In general, customers are satisfied with this service. Since telephone services in Russia remain largely monopolized and tariffs are high, callback services are currently quite profitable. Discount or callback telephone systems allow callers overseas to save money by using an American phone line, skirting the much higher prices charged by government-owned phone companies in other countries. Rostelecom, which has a virtual monopoly on international lines in Russia, has the highest international dialing rates per GDP per capita in the world. At present, there are few commercial providers in Russia such as Comstar and Combellga, that compete with Rostelecom by providing discounts at certain times.