Let me explain. If a Russian mobile provider would ask customers to pay $45 starting next month, then majority of users would say: "No thanks, I don't really need mobile data that much. Also by law you must provide us with free access to VK (social network) anyway so it makes no sense to pay you $45 for this". But is US, customers are paying and do not complain, because for them it is not that big price. This is what I meant by "customers are ok".
Yes, mobile providers market is not a free market, as there are small number of companies both in US and in Russia. But the price they charge customers is different in these countries despite they use similar equipment which probably has the same cost. So the difference in prices can be explained by what people in different countries consider "cheap" and "expensive". The provider charges as much as possible, but less than a customer would consider "too expensive".
And the same thing is about housing prices, they do not really correlate with expenses to build them. It takes the same amount of money to build an apartment in Moscow and in a small city in Siberia, but the price for the buyer will be very different.
Yes, mobile providers market is not a free market, as there are small number of companies both in US and in Russia. But the price they charge customers is different in these countries despite they use similar equipment which probably has the same cost. So the difference in prices can be explained by what people in different countries consider "cheap" and "expensive". The provider charges as much as possible, but less than a customer would consider "too expensive".
And the same thing is about housing prices, they do not really correlate with expenses to build them. It takes the same amount of money to build an apartment in Moscow and in a small city in Siberia, but the price for the buyer will be very different.