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Information Society and Media

5. Roaming regulation

Although the costs of buying and using mobile phones have dropped after Europe’s telecom rules entered into force in 2003, the cost of using a mobile phone abroad has remained high. In March 2007, an Austrian in Malta could expect to pay €10 for a four-minute call home, a Cypriot in Belgium up to €12. The European Commission initiated a regulation to lower these so-called roaming costs. This new regulation entered into force in the summer of 2007, introducing a so-called Eurotariff – a price cap for using a mobile phone abroad.

From 30 June 2007, the Eurotariff became available in all 27 countries of the European Union. It applies only to voice calls within the EU – for both pre-paid and post-paid customers.

For the consumers, the new EU regulation on roaming means that:

• Prices paid for international roaming when travelling within the EU will be capped by a Eurotariff unless the customer has already opted for special roaming package beforehand;
• The prices of the Eurotariff cannot exceed 49 cents for making calls and 24 cents for receiving calls (per minute charge, excluding VAT). These prices will further drop in 2008 and 2009;
• Consumers will benefit from these lower prices for making calls in the visited country, back home or to another EU member state;
• Consumers will also make considerable savings when receiving calls;
• Switching to the Eurotariff will be free and does not have any consequences on the customer’s existing tariff package;
• Prices that operators charge each other (wholesale charges) are also being capped over the next three years. This ensures that all operators will be in a position to offer lower retail tariffs;
• Transparency of roaming charges for consumers will be enhanced. Customers should receive an SMS when they are roaming informing them of the price they are expected to pay for making and receiving calls. Customers can opt out from the service if they wish. Customers are able to request more detailed information by means of a voice call or SMS.

These and other initiatives, ranging from an effective management system for radio spectrum to increasing the security of networks, will contribute to a single European Information Space.