The European Commission has introduced new legislation enforcing in effect a ceiling on mobile operator data roaming charges. The objective of this legislation is to force mobile operators to better inform subscribers regarding incurred mobile internet roaming charges, thus adding many degrees of transparency to what has up to know been an opaque box for most subscribers.
Mobile operator data roaming charges have been the subject of much debate since many subscribers indulge in mobile internet activities without a clear understanding of whether, and how they are charged. Frequently, a particular subscriber is faced with an unexpected and highly unpleasant surprise once she receives the resultant bill with the restrictively high charges.
Mobile Internet Web Surfing Price Caps
As of March the 1st 2010, every European Union citizen has to right to impose a cost ceiling to their mobile operator insofar as mobile internet roaming charges are concerned. The mobile operator in turn is obliged to inform the particular subscriber when 80% of that ceiling is reached. When 100% is reached service is automatically canceled.
Effective July the 1st, if a subscriber does not inform the operator about their desired cost ceiling, the mobile operator will automatically cut service when the service cost reaches 50 euros. The threshold can be dynamically changed to that desired by the subscriber.
The intention of the legislation is to encourage mobile internet surfing and general data communication by making billing more transparent and understandable to the subscriber base, thus removing any hesitation which may result from fears of overbilling and general misunderstanding about how a particular operator charges mobile internet roaming fees.
Roaming Voice and SMS Price Caps
The last couple of years have seen increased commission involvement on “normalizing” mobile operator profits by imposing substantial reductions in mobile operator voice and SMS charges. As per commission regulation, charges for an outgoing call from abroad call can be no more than 0,43 euro per minute while for an incoming call no more than 0,19 euro per minute.
For outgoing calls, rating will be on a per second basis after the first 30 seconds while for an incoming call rating will be on a per second basis at call initiation. For an SMS ougoing call from abroad charges can be no more than 0,11 euro per message while incoming SMSs must be free of charge. Regarding mobile internet web surfing, present regulation enforces a ceiling charge of 1 euro per MB of data.
Antonis Hontzeas - Antonis Hontzeas has been in the forefront of the Telecommunications industry for over twenty years. Tenures include positions ranging ...
Join the Conversation