Free Roaming in Europe
As of June 15, the Europeans will no longer pay more for mobile internet and phone calls when traveling to another EU member state or to the European Economic Area.
România Internațional, 15.06.2017, 12:50
On June 15, the Roam Like Home Act took effect in the European Union and the countries in the European Economic Area, namely Norway, Iceland and Lichetenstein. The law abolishes roaming fees for the mobile users traveling abroad. The decision was made in 2016 by the European authorities, after 10 years of extensive negotiations with mobile telecoms operators. The act is intended to protect users from the burden of roaming fees in the EU and European Economic Area. Starting on June 15, they may call, text or surf the internet abroad, for the same fees that they pay in their home countries.
The National Communications Management and Regulatory Authority of Romania explained that, with the new law in force, the phone call minutes, text messages and data traffic used in the roaming system will be deducted from the national resources provided by the mobile operator’s subscription plans. After these have been used up, further use will be charged the same fees as they are in Romania, within reasonable limits. To prevent the abusive use of the roaming service in the EU and EEA, any mobile operator may set a reasonable use policy. The customers who go beyond this reasonable limit may be charged extra, but the level of extra fees cannot exceed a specific ceiling.
Roam like at Home only applies tocitizens who travel in the EU, with the calls from the home country to users abroad still subject to extra charges. According to a news release issued by the European Commission, the scrapping of roaming tariffs is one of the most important and concrete achievements of the EU and a new step towards building a united and sustainable European digital society, accessible to all its citizens.
(Transated by Anamaria Popescu)
