Roaming in the European Union

On June 30, 2009, the expanded EU Roaming Regulation [Regulation (EC) No. 544/2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 717/2007 on roaming on public mobile telephone networks within the Community] went into effect. The expanded EU Roaming Regulation introduces a number of key changes with regard to roaming throughout the Community and extends the validity of the Roaming Regulation to June 30, 2012. The Regulation was originally valid June 30, 2010.

In addition to the "Eurotariff" introduced in the summer of 2007 for mobile voice services, telecommunications service providers now also have to offer a "Euro-SMS tariff" and comply with comprehensive transparency obligations in the provision of mobile data roaming services. In addition, the expanded regulation provides for additional price reductions in the Eurotariff as well as rules on billing increments for regulated roaming calls and on the receipt of voice mail messages. The fees for multimedia messages (MMS) and data roaming services are not covered by price regulations at the retail level. 

The rules laid down in the expanded EU Roaming Regulation apply to the 27 member states of the European Union. A list of the EU's member states can be found at europa.eu/abc/european_countries/index_en.htm. The expanded Roaming Regulation has also been in effect in the EEA member countries Norway, Island und Liechtenstein since April 2010. 

"Eurotariff" 

Charges 

• From July 1, 2009 onward:
• Rate reduction moved up from August 30 to July 1
• Maximum charge of EUR 0.43 per minute excluding VAT for outgoing roaming calls (51.6 euro cents per minute including VAT)
• Maximum charge of EUR 0.19 per minute excluding VAT for incoming roaming calls (22.8 euro cents per minute including VAT)
• Gradual reductions of charges planned until July 1, 2011
• From July 1, 2010 onward:
• Maximum charge of EUR 0.39 per minute excluding VAT for outgoing roaming calls (46.8 euro cents per minute including VAT)
• Maximum charge of EUR 0.15 per minute excluding VAT for incoming roaming calls (18 euro cents including VAT)
• From July 1, 2011 onward:
• Maximum charge of EUR 0.35 per minute excluding VAT for outgoing roaming calls (42 euro cents per minute including VAT)
• Maximum charge of EUR 0.11 per minute excluding VAT for incoming roaming calls (13.2 euro cents including VAT)
• Billing increments from July 1, 2009 onward:
• Per-second billing after the first 30 seconds for outgoing roaming calls (equivalent to a 30/1 billing method).
• Mandatory per-second billing from the first second onward for incoming roaming calls, meaning that charging in billing increments was prohibited for incoming roaming calls in the Eurotariff scheme from July 1, 2009 onward
  
  In this context, it is also important to note the Telekom-Control-Kommission's decision of Sept. 21, 2009.

Voice mail / voice messages from July 1, 2010 onward:

As of July 1, 2010, mobile operators are no longer allowed to charge customers for receiving voice messages while roaming within the EU. However, this rule does not apply to listening to voice messages; the agreed roaming rate can still be charged for retrieving voice messages. Customers who use a Eurotariff are therefore charged the agreed rate for outgoing calls when they retrieve voice messages while roaming within the European Union. Until July 1, 2010, mobile operators were still allowed to charge customers for receiving voice messages. For such messages, active and passive roaming fees were generally charged in accordance with the agreed rates. This rule does not apply to countries outside of the European Union, meaning that customers may still be charged for receiving voice messages when roaming outside of the EU. Click here for tips and information on how to use your voice mail and call diverts abroad. 

Euro-SMS tariff 

From July 1, 2009 onward: 

Starting on July 1, 2009, all mobile operators were required to offer their customers a Euro-SMS tariff. For those customers who did not actively opt for a specific tariff for roaming text messages, the Euro-SMS tariff was applied automatically from July 1, 2009 onward. However, mobile operators may still offer additional SMS roaming rate plans which provide for different charges for sending text messages while roaming within the European Union. 

The charges for multimedia messages (MMS) are not subject to price regulations at the retail level, which means that mobile operators can still freely set the charges customers pay for sending and receiving multimedia messages while roaming in EU countries.

• Charges
• For text messages sent while roaming within the EU, the Euro-SMS tariff must not be higher than EUR 0.11 excluding VAT (EUR 13.2 cents including VAT) per text message sent.
• Mobile operators are no longer permitted to charge subscribers for receiving text messages while roaming within the EU.
• Information
  • All mobile operators were required to inform their customers about the availability of a Euro-SMS tariff by June 30, 2009 at the latest.
• Transition
• All customers had to be switched over to a Euro-SMS tariff automatically by July 1, 2009 at the latest.
• This did not apply to customers who actively opted for a different roaming rate plan (known as a "specific roaming tariff") or a roaming package under which they pay a different rate for regulated roaming text messages (i.e., a rate which is not the default roaming rate).
• Mobile operators are required to switch customers over from or to a Euro-SMS tariff at any time and at no additional cost within one day after receiving the corresponding request.
• Switching from or to a Euro-SMS tariff must not affect other parts of the subscriber's contract (except for roaming).
• However, mobile operators are allowed to impose a commitment period of up to three months for the previously chosen rate plan from the time when that rate plan enters into effect.
• Combining rate plans

The Euro-SMS tariff must not be bound to a contract or other fixed or recurring charges and can generally be combined with any retail rate plan. In any case, it must be possible to combine the Euro-SMS tariff with a Eurotariff. The table below shows which types of tariffs have to be combinable. 

Informational text messages

From July 1, 2009 onward:

As of July 1, 2009, the informational text message (which has been mandatory since September 30, 2007) each home network operator is required to send its customers every time their telephone  registers in a foreign network in a member state of the European Union must contain the following information:

• The maximum charges the customer will incur for outgoing and incoming calls under his/her rate plan;
• the maximum charges incurred by the customer for roaming text messages;
• The European emergency number 112; and
• A toll-free service number for the purpose of obtaining more detailed information.

This informational text message must be free of charge, and the customer must be able to opt out of (and back in to) receiving it at any time; the message must also be made available in an appropriate form for blind or partially-sighted customers.

Data roaming – Cost control function

The charges for using mobile data roaming services within the European Union are not subject to price regulation at the retail level, which means that mobile operators can still freely set the charges for mobile data roaming services on the retail market.

The corresponding wholesale charges – that is, the charges for regulated data roaming services which mobile operators from EU member states charge each other when their customers use roaming services in foreign networks – have been subject to price regulations since July 1, 2009. From that time onward, the maximum average wholesale charge between two operators was limited to EUR 1.00 per megabyte. This limit is to be reduced to 80 euro cents per megabyte on July 1, 2010, and to 50 eurocents per megabyte on July 1, 2011.

However, the expanded EU Roaming Regulation imposes information and transparency obligations on mobile operators in order to provide the users of mobile data roaming services with sufficient information on the resulting costs and to protect users from incurring surprisingly high costs ("bill shocks").

From July 1, 2009 onward:

• Automatic message

As of July 1, 2009, all mobile operators are required to send an automated message to customers when they use regulated data roaming services in order to inform them that they are using a roaming service; this information message must also include information on the charges incurred for using the service. Customers must also be allowed to opt out of receiving this message and to opt back in free of charge.

This personalized pricing information must be:

• free of charge; and
• operators must deliver this information to their subscribers at the latest when they begin to use a data roaming service.

The following information must be included:

• Notification that the customer is about to use a regulated data roaming service;
• basic personalized pricing information for the use of data roaming services in the EU member state visited with regard to the maximum charges incurred by the roaming customer for using regulated data roaming services in that member state.

This information can be delivered by:

• text message;
• e-mail;
• a pop-up window;
• etc.

What is essential is that the automated message be provided/delivered in an appropriate form so that it is easily perceived by the customer.

• Cost control function from March 1 / July 1, 2010 onward:

Since March 1, 2010, mobile operators have been required to provide their customers with a cost control function for the use of regulated data roaming services.

This function is to enable the customer to choose a certain limit for the use of regulated data roaming services; once that limit is reached, the provision of data roaming services and the charging of fees for those services are suspended for the time being. The cost control function is intended to enable roaming customers to monitor the costs arising from data roaming and to protect users from surprisingly high roaming costs ("bill shocks").

Specifically, mobile operators are required to offer one or more limits for defined usage periods. The limit may be expressed as:

• a data volume or
• a monetary amount.

Mobile operators are also required to inform customers of how much data is included in a certain monetary amount (and vice versa). Mobile operators are required to offer one limit of approximately EUR 60.00 including VAT (EUR 50.00 excluding VAT) – or the corresponding data volume – per monthly billing period. The customer must be allowed to choose a limit. In cases where a customer does not opt for a limit offered by a mobile operator, the customer's limit must be automatically set to the monthly limit of approximately EUR 60.00 (the default limit) from July 1, 2010 onward. This means that customers generally cannot incur costs for the use of regulated data roaming services in excess of approximately EUR 60.00 unless they explicitly request continued usage beyond that limit. The function does not apply yet to customers who did not actively opt for this function in the period between March 1, 2010 and July 1, 2010. For those customers, the default limit was applied from July 1, 2010 onward.

As soon as a customer reaches 80% of the agreed limit through the use of regulated data roaming services, the home network operator is required to send a message (text message, e-mail, etc.) to the roaming customer's mobile phone or other terminal device (PDA, laptop, etc.) in order to inform the customer that 80% of the agreed limit has been reached.

If the agreed limit is reached, the home network operator is required to send the roaming customer another message containing the following information:

• Notification that the agreed limit has been reached;
• Information on how the customer can request the continued provision of data services;
• Information on the costs arising from each additional unit consumed.

If the customer does not respond to the message accordingly, the home network operator is required to discontinue the provision of and billing for data roaming services immediately.

Mobile operators have been subject to this obligation since March 1, 2010 in cases where customers opted for a (financial/volume-based) limit for regulated data roaming services.

As of July 1, 2010, the default limit of approximately EUR 60.00 per month including VAT was applied to all customers (unless explicitly agreed otherwise). This means that the default limit was applied automatically to all customers who had not yet opted for a monetary or volume-based limit.

In any case, whenever you use mobile roaming services, it is important to note that the obligations described on this Web site only apply to mobile operators in the European Union. This cost control function is not required for the use of data roaming services in other countries. Subscribers are advised to obtain detailed information on roaming from their mobile operators.

It is also a advisable to actively obtain information on the costs which can arise from the use of data roaming services, and on the possibility of using roaming packages or alternative ways of using data services abroad, as the use of data roaming services can still bring about high costs (even within the EU).