Lower roaming rates for voice, text, data usage on mobile phones in EU as from today

Under the EU’s new roaming rules, as from today travellers' data-roaming limit would be automatically set at €50 excluding VAT (unless they have chosen another limit, higher or lower).

Under the new regulation, mobile telephony operators would have to send users a warning when they reach 80% of their data-roaming bill limit.

The operator was obliged to cut off the mobile internet connection once the limit had been reached, unless the customer had indicated they wanted to continue data roaming that particular month.

In addition, maximum wholesale prices for data roaming would fall from €1 to 80 eurocents per MegaByte (MB).

Likewise, the maximum price for making a roaming call as from today would be cut to 39 euro cents per minute (excluding VAT), instead of the current 43 euro cents, while receiving a call will cost a maximum of 15 euro cents per minute (excluding VAT), instead of 19 euro cents.

As a result of the latest roaming regulations, the cost of making and receiving calls when abroad in the EU would now be 73% cheaper than in 2005, when the EU first started to tackle excessive roaming charges.

The EU's 2009 Roaming Regulation required mobile operators to offer their customers, as of March 2010, the possibility to set their own monthly cut-off price limit for data roaming via mobile phone or a computer.

As from today, if customers had not chosen a different cut-off level, operators would have to impose a monthly default cut-off for data roaming of €50 excluding VAT.

For non-eurozone countries, the amount would be calculated based on the exchange rate published in the EU's Official Journal as of 1 June 2010.

These measures mean that users would no longer receive massive bills, which potentially could reach thousands of euros, because they downloaded music or watched videos on their phones or computers while in another Member State without being aware of the cost.

As an example of the problem, in 2009, a German traveller downloading a TV programme while roaming in France faced a bill of no less than €46, 000.

In another recent example, a UK student was reported as receiving a bill of almost €9 000 for data roaming during a single month while studying abroad.

Under the Regulation, mobile phone operators must send their customers a message informing them about the data roaming tariffs every time they entered another EU country.

Operators must also send customers a warning alert once they have reached 80% of their specified limit.

Messages could 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 were cut as from today from 1 euro to 80 euro cents per MegaByte (MB) of information uploaded or downloaded. On 1 July 2011, the price of data downloads would fall further to 50 euro cents per MB.

The maximum retail prices (excl. VAT) for roaming calls will also be reduced. They will fall by nearly 10%, from 43 euro cents to 39 euro cents per minute for calls made and by more than 20% from 19 euro cents to 15 euro cents per minute for calls received.

Finally, receiving a voice mail message while roaming has become free of charge as from today, but consumers would continue to be charged for listening to their voice mail messages. Prices for sending short text messages would remain at 11 cents 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 were invited to contact the national regulator in the Member State where their mobile operator is based – the MCA in case of Maltese mobile phone operators – if they had any problems or questions about the new limits.

Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes welcomed the entry into force of the new roaming caps. "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,” she insisted.

“The EU is also cutting the cost of roaming calls for travellers. I am determined to make the EU's telecoms markets more competitive," Kroes added.