Reduction in roaming charges

Members of the European Parliament and representatives of the Council and the European Commission have reached a preliminary deal on new EU roaming rules. This agreement is subject to ratification by the European Parliament in May and member states in June.

From July 1, 2014, customers will have the option to shop around and sign up for a separate mobile contract for roaming.

Each time customers cross a border, their phone will switch to the network of the roaming provider they would have chosen, without any further action on their part. Customers will also have the option to directly select a local mobile network for data roaming in the country they are.

From July 2012, it will cost less to use one’s mobile phone in other EU member states. Consumers will pay 29 cents per minute to make a call; eight cents per minute to receive a call; nine cents to send a text message; 70 cents per megabyte to download data or browse the internet while travelling (charged per kilobyte used).

These regulated price caps will be lowered progressively so by July 1, 2014, roaming consumers will be paying 19 cents per minute to make a call, five cents per minute to receive a call, six cents to send a text message and 20 cents per megabyte to download data or browse the internet while abroad.

These caps will remain in force until June 2017.

In addition, the new rules stipulate that consumers are to receive information about roaming charges when they are travelling outside the EU. The aim is to help consumers avoiding ‘bill shocks’ while using their phone or tablet abroad.

From July 2012, people travelling outside the EU will get a warning SMS, e-mail or pop-up window when they are nearing €50 of data downloads, or their pre-agreed level.

Consumers must confirm that they are happy to exceed this level to continue with their data roaming.

Current and new retail price caps (excluding VAT)