Good news for those who use their mobile phones abroad: international roaming charges for making or receiving calls outside of Italy are now cheaper, thanks to the implementation of a European Union regulation.
Just in time for the summer holidays, here’s some good news for those who use their mobile phones abroad to make and receive calls: international roaming charges within the European Union are now cheaper.
As a result of a EU regulation, receiving a call while abroad will no longer cost 15 cents per minute but 11 cents, a saving of 4 cents.
For outgoing calls, the rate has dropped from 39 cents to 35 cents.
Finally, regarding data charges, a maximum threshold has been set within which mobile operators must fix new rates: customers will not be charged more than 50 cents per megabyte (currently the threshold is 80 cents).
Nothing changes for SMS: receiving them abroad was and still is free, while sending them will continue to cost 13 cents, keeping the rate set last year unchanged.
Therefore, for the next 12 months, these will be the new roaming charges applicable within EU member countries.
This measure pursues the objective – which has been in progress for some time but must be achieved gradually – of eliminating differences between countries, effectively leading to a parity (or close to it) between national and international rates by 2015. It’s not enough to simply “control” the prices of mobile operator services at a European level; the solution would be to offer genuine competition and alternatives in the roaming sector, which is currently lacking, as pointed out by Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission and responsible for the Digital Agenda.
While appreciated and useful, overall, the various promotions for international calls regularly offered by different operators (like Vodafone Passport, to name just one) are of little use – if not temporary – if the market – globally – is not competitive.
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