Brussels, 28/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - In time for the summer holidays, new lower cut-off points for roaming charges will come into force in the European Union. "There will be no more bill shocks for tourists or business travellers surfing the internet with smart phones or laptops while in another EU country. The EU is also cutting the cost of roaming calls for travellers. I am determined to make the EU's telecoms markets more competitive," commented EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
The EU's 2009 Roaming Regulation (544/2009) required mobile operators to offer their customers, as of March 2010, the option of setting their own monthly cut-off price limit for data roaming via mobile phone or computer (see EUROPE 10088). From 1 July 2010 onwards, if customers have not chosen a different cut-off level, operators will have to impose a monthly default cut-off for data roaming of €50 excluding VAT. For non-eurozone countries, the amount will be calculated based on the exchange rate published in the EU's Official Journal as of 1 June 2010. These measures mean that users will no longer receive massive bills (potentially thousands of euro) because they downloaded music or watched videos on their phones or computers while in another member state without being aware of the cost. Under the regulation, operators must send their customers a message informing them about the data roaming tariffs every time they enter another EU country. Operators must also send customers a warning alert once they have reached 80% of their specified limit. Messages can be sent by text message, e-mail or with a pop-up window on computer screens, whichever way the operator chooses and according to the device being used.
In addition, the maximum wholesale prices for data roaming allowed under the Roaming Regulation are cut as of 1st July from €1 to €0.80 per MegaByte (MB) of information uploaded or downloaded. Next year, the price will fall further to €0.50 per MB.
The maximum retail prices (excl. VAT) for roaming calls will also be reduced. They will fall by nearly 10%, from €0.43 to €0.39 per minute for calls made, and by more than 20% from €0.19 to €0.15 per minute for calls received.
Finally, receiving a voice mail message while roaming, indicating that a new voice mail has arrived, will become free of charge, but consumers will continue to be charged for listening to their voice mail messages. Prices for sending short text messages will remain at €0.11 per message.
Member states' national telecoms regulators must ensure that mobile phone operators comply with the new rules on data roaming and the lower prices of voice calls. Consumers can contact the national telecoms regulator in the member state where their mobile operator is based if they have any problems or questions about the new limits, explains the Commission. The Commission will present an interim report on the impact of the Roaming Regulation and provide a full review of its functioning by 30 June 2011. In the 2011 full review it will assess how best to reach its objective, as outlined in the Digital Agenda for Europe, that the difference in charges between roaming and home-country mobile-phone calls should be nearly zero by 2015. (I.L./transl.fl)