Operators compete on reduced roaming rates

Malta's mobile operators announced reduced roaming rates in line with EU directives this week. The rates came into effect on Wednesday.

Melita Mobile announced reductions all voice, SMS rates for roaming within EU countries. Its voice rates are the lowest. Calls made from any EU country to another now cost 47 cents (VAT included) for the first 30 seconds and then charged per second. Incoming calls on Melita Mobile cost 18 cents (VAT included) per minute while roaming in any EU country.

SMS rates have been reduced to 13 cents (VAT included).

Melita offers a worldwide network of roaming services with some 600 third party mobile operators across the globe in over 200 countries, through an agreement with Telecom Italia.

Roaming services are available both on 'Pay Monthly' contract plans and on pre-paid top-up plans.

Go's voice call roaming rate is €0.51 (inclusive of VAT).

The SMS rate has decreased to €0.13. Data and internet roaming rates have been reduced and Go offers the lowest data roaming rates through several of its roaming network providers in the EU.

Data roaming in any EU country for Go contract mobile customers costs €5 per MB, charged with 1 KB increments. Go offers a specially reduced rate of €2.50, charged with 1 KB increments, meaning that a Go roaming customer pays €0.0024 for every KB used.

Go has removed all set up charges and all charges are charged per KB, meaning customers pay for what they use.

'Pay As You Go' mobile customers using data roaming in the EU countries are charged the standard rate of €8 per MB, charged with 64 KB increments.

Vodafone earlier announced that customers making calls to any EU destination while roaming on any network in the EU now cost €0.50 per minute, charged per second after the first 30 seconds.

Text messages cost €0.13. 'Pay Monthly' tariff customers benefit from cheaper rates with Vodafone Passport: they are able to call home or the visited country at €0.23 per minute plus a €1 set-up charge per call. Receiving a call on any EU Vodafone Passport Network costs €0.70 for every 10 minutes.

Data roaming rates for prepaid customers start at €0.05 per 10Kb; rates for 'Pay Monthly' tariff customers start from €0.03 per 10Kb.