MSE News: Mobile roaming charges could be axed across Europe 12 September 2013 at 5:09PM in Mobiles 12 replies 2.3K views

Former_MSE_Darryl

"The cost of using your mobile phone around Europe could be slashed after the European Commission announced plans to finally end roaming charges across the continent..."

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Mobile roaming charges could be axed across Europe



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NFH

It's a shame that the requirement to charge cross-border calls at the same price as domestic calls applies only when calling a fixed line.

This leaves open one remaining advantage to using local SIM cards. If one roams while abroad, locals will still pay arbitrarily inflated prices to call the roaming mobile. The only way to get around this will be to use a local SIM card, as is the case currently. It would have been nice if they had removed any need to buy a local SIM card.

grumbler

Yet another bureaucratic anti-market regulation that will hit savvy people taking advantage of the lowest prices available.

I don't think that low-cost providers will be able to sustain their low prices across the entire EU and hence they will be forced to increase them in UK. Poor people that hardly ever travel or call abroad will subsidise those who do this regularly.

NFH

grumbler wrote: »

Yet another bureaucratic anti-market regulation that will hit savvy people taking advantage of the lowest prices available.

I don't think that low-cost providers will be able to sustain their low prices across the entire EU and hence they will be forced to increase them in UK. Poor people that hardly ever travel or call abroad will subsidise those who do this regularly.

The original proposal was that consumers can choose a roaming provider other than their home network; this introduces competition which does not exist currently.

Now the networks are being given a second option whereby a network can prevent consumers from choosing an alternative roaming provider but only if the home network applies its domestic prices when roaming. This additional option gives more flexibility to networks; they can choose either option.

As you suggest, small competitive MVNOs might be unable to extend their domestic prices for roaming throughout the EEA, but they still have the option of allowing an alternative roaming provider. Giffgaff is a good example. Although Giffgaff charges £7.50 for a gigabyte in the UK, it charges a whopping £450 per gigabyte in other European countries, i.e. 60 times as much. Unlike other UK networks, Giffgaff doesn't offer any data roaming bundles. Since Giffgaff does not aim to be competitive for roaming and its domestic prices might be too low to extend for usage throughout the EEA, it might choose the original first option of allowing its customers to use an alternative roaming provider.

m5rcc

NFH wrote: »

Although Giffgaff charges £7.50 for a gigabyte in the UK, it charges a whopping £450 per gigabyte in other European countries, i.e. 60 times as much.

GiffGaff can charge £1 million per MB if they wished, it would be deemed unlawful given that the maximum any EU operator can charge in a given month is €50, unless one optted-out.

NFH

m5rcc wrote: »

GiffGaff can charge £1 million per MB if they wished, it would be deemed unlawful given that the maximum any EU operator can charge in a given month is €50, unless one optted-out.

At £450 per gigabyte, 80MB would cost a whopping £36 though. Orange sells a daily bundle for £3 for 100MB which would cover this or otherwise £1 for 20MB. These prices demonstrate that Giffgaff doesn't want to compete in the roaming market, so maybe it will allow its customers to choose an "alternative roaming provider" rather than extending its low UK prices throughout the EEA.

NiftyDigits

NFH wrote: »

At £450 per gigabyte, 80MB would cost a whopping £36 though. Orange sells a daily bundle for £3 for 100MB which would cover this or otherwise £1 for 20MB. These prices demonstrate that Giffgaff doesn't want to compete in the roaming market, so maybe it will allow its customers to choose an "alternative roaming provider" rather than extending its low UK prices throughout the EEA.

Isn't that 30MB?

NFH

NiftyDigits wrote: »

Isn't that 30MB?

No, 100MB as I said.

NiftyDigits

NFH wrote: »

No, 100MB as I said.

Oh yes, I can see that they have changed their offerings. Used to be 30MB.

Data
EU 20MB Daily
20MB daily bundle 89% saving on standard rates 20MB £1

EU 100MB Daily
100MB daily bundle 93% saving on standard rates 100MB £3

TurnUpForTheBooks_2

I see no mention here in this thread that 3 mobile has already got started and are way ahead of the curve - good on them.

I am using a £15pm 12 month SIM only and get 2000 minutes UK any network calls and unlimited data and thousands of texts and receive incoming calls free ALL of this active whilst roaming abroad in any of 7 countries - I just happen to be visiting 2 of them in the next 4 weeks so that's brilliant!

So it is about time MSE updated its Mobile Roaming pricing tips - not much good is said about Three mobile there ...

NFH

TurnUpForTheBooks wrote: »

I see no mention here in this thread that 3 mobile has already got started and are way ahead of the curve - good on them.

Absolutely true. They are ahead of the curve on this, but are only doing now what will soon be forced upon them.