Photo-© moggara12 – Fotolia
(BRUSSELS) – Texting or surfing online from another EU Member State (roaming) became cheaper Saturday as new rules on roaming and net neutrality entered into force.
When travelling in the EU, mobile devices users will only pay a small amount on top of their domestic prices: up to 0.05 per minute of call made, 0.02 per SMS sent, and 0.05 per MB of data (excl. VAT).
There will now be a short transition period, as from mid-June 2017, Europeans will pay the same price whether they use their mobile devices at home or somewhere else in the EU.
The maximum tariffs (excluding VAT) for calls, texts and downloading data are:
|
|
1 July 2014 |
30 April 2016** |
15 June 2017*** |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Outgoing voice calls (per minute) |
0.19 |
domestic price + up to 0.05 |
no extra roaming fee, same as domestic price |
|
Incoming voice calls (per minute) |
0.05 |
0.0114 |
no extra roaming fee, same as domestic price |
|
Outgoing texts (per SMS message) |
0.06 |
domestic price + up to 0.02 |
no extra roaming fee, same as domestic price |
|
Online (data download, per MB*) |
0.20 |
domestic price + up to 0.05 |
no extra roaming fee, same as domestic price |
*The tariff is per Megabyte to download data or browse the Internet whilst travelling abroad (charged per Kilobyte used).
**From 30 April 2016 onwards, the roaming fee equal to domestic price + 0.05 may not exceed 0.19 for voice and 0.20 for data. The roaming fee equal to domestic price + 0.02 may not exceed 0.06 for SMS.
***When traveling in the EU
These price caps are the maximum permissible prices. Operators are free to offer cheaper rates, so be on the lookout for better deals.
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
Digital Single Market Commissioner Vice-President Ansip said: “We’re in the home stretch now before the end of roaming charges in 2017. This is not only about Europeans saving money, this is about bringing down barriers in the Digital Single Market”.
The rules entering into force also set the principle of net neutrality rules for the first time in EU law.
Commissioner Oettinger, in charge of the Digital Economy and Society, said: “These rules protect the right of every European to access the online content of their choice, without interference or discrimination. They will avoid fragmentation in the Single Market, creating legal certainty for businesses and making it easier for them to work across border”.
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