Maltese travellers top SMS users in Europe despite high rates

Staying connected is evidently essential for the Maltese who, together with the Irish, send the most text messages when abroad, according to a survey on the use of mobile roaming communication by EU citizens.

Yet, the majority of Maltese who went abroad over the past five years still described the costs as “very high” even though mobile phone companies across the EU were forced to slash rates.

The results of the survey show that 77 per cent of the Maltese who visited another EU member state for private purposes in the last five years texted regularly and 59 per cent used their mobile to make calls.

In the EU, 49 per cent of those travelling sent SMSs while abroad and 47 per cent made phone calls.

The Irish are the only ones in the EU to compete with the Maltese when it comes to texting as 77 per cent of Irish respondents also said they texted when abroad.

The Eurobarometer survey, conducted in Malta last October, shows that although many agree the costs of using a mobile abroad had dropped, the majority still considered the prices to be “high”.

Seventy-two per cent of the Maltese said they still limited their mobile phone use when abroad because they were concerned about the exorbitant costs and 15 per cent said they used their device irrespective of the cost involved. At the same time, four per cent of Maltese travellers said they did not even take their mobile phone with them when travelling.

Despite its availability, it seems internet roaming is still unpopular among Maltese consumers. Only one per cent of Maltese travellers said they used the service when abroad and 19 per cent felt the price for data roaming was “fair”. Another 49 per cent said they did not know about data roaming tariffs as they do not use the service.

On an EU level, the survey shows that almost three quarters of Europeans are still worried about the cost of using their mobile phone when travelling in the EU, even if the majority are aware that prices have fallen since 2006. Only 19 per cent of people who use internet-related services on their mobile phones when abroad felt the costs of data roaming (for internet surfing or checking e-mails) were fair.

The European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Nellie Kroes said EU citizens were expecting better rates from the mobile industry. “Consumers feel there is still much room for improvement, particularly for data roaming. I intend to ensure better roaming solutions for European citizens and businesses.”

The EU first introduced caps on roaming prices in 2007 ensuring mobile phone users paid similar roaming tariffs across the EU. In July 2009, rules were revised cutting roaming rates further so that by July this year the maximum roaming charges will, as default, be 35c per minute for calls made and 11c for calls received while abroad.

The Commission is soon expected to present new proposals for further regulation.