Vodafone has become the first local operator to scrap European roaming charges.
The company announced this morning that it was introducing new post-paid plans providing customers travelling throughout Europe with free incoming calls, free calls and SMS to Maltese numbers and a free roaming data allowance.
The RED plans will also offer the same rate for out-of-bundle calls and SMS to all European numbers, whether the customer is in Malta or abroad in Europe.
The move follows a decision by the EU last year to phase out roaming charges altogether by June 2017. As an interim move, operators will only be able to charge a drastically reduced roaming fee as of this April.
Vodafone Malta CEO Amanda Nelson said: “With the number of Maltese travelling abroad increasing by 15 per cent year-on-year, these new plans respond to a growing need on the part of Maltese consumers.”
The new plans, which are available from today, are between €2 and €5 more expensive than existing contracts, although the bundles include increased allowances apart from the roaming benefits.
A Facebook post by Labour MP Luciano BusuttilMs Nelson declined to comment on how the removal of roaming rates might impact Vodafone financially, but said that if customers upped their data usage overseas, as expected, the company would face additional costs from foreign operators for the use of their network.
In a statement this afternoon, Nationalist MEP David Casa welcomed the removal of the charges which, he said, represented an unnecessary barrier within the internal marker to the detriment of the consumer.
The removal of roaming charges, he said, constituted an important step in the EU’s Digital Agenda.
“Roaming charges are also connected to the on-going debate on net neutrality. The internet must be open, fast and equal. It is these principles that have enabled the internet to be a central platform for free speech, innovation and entrepreneurship. This must be protected and enhanced,” Mr Casa said.