No more EU roaming since June 15: all questions and answers
A ADVICE from David Wurm 
on June 08, 2017, 18:35 pm | 3 comments
The EU has been discussing the new EU roaming regulation for ten years. From June 15, 2017, it will finally be a reality: no longer fear high costs abroad. Nevertheless, there are some important details to consider. We have all the questions and answers about the EU roaming regulation.
“Roam like at home” is the name of the new EU regulation on the new EU roaming that starts before the summer holidays. This should enable customers to make calls and surf the web abroad at no additional cost. But it's not as straightforward as it sounds. There are a few things to consider in order not to fall into a cost trap. We clarify.
Jump to section
- 1 EU roaming regulation from June 15th: all questions and answers
- 2 Are there any costs for calls / SMS in another EU country to another EU country?
- 3 What is the cost of calls / SMS in other EU countries to a non-EU country?
- 4 Does this mean that domestic calls abroad no longer cost anything?
- 5 Can I use the Internet in other EU countries?
EU roaming regulation from June 15th: all questions and answers
In which countries does the new EU roaming apply?
The EU regulation from June 15th applies in the following countries:
Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, French Territories (Indian Ocean), French Guiana, Gibraltar, Greece, Great Britain, Guadeloupe, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta , Martinique, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus.
Example: Vacation outside the EU regulations
In other countries where the EU regulation does not apply, everything is as usual. Telephoning in any country and surfing the Internet is referred to as roaming here. That means: deactivate data roaming in the settings of the smartphone before the holiday and set a cost limit with the operator. If in doubt, you should ask the operator beforehand.
Are there any costs for calls / SMS in another EU country to another EU country?
No. All outgoing calls / SMS from and to an EU country are billed according to the free amounts included in the tariff. This means that you can use your voice and SMS free units abroad as you would at home.
If you receive a call from any country in another EU country, there is no international surcharge. Just as it does not cost anything at home to take a call from a number from abroad. Passive roaming is therefore no longer necessary in other EU countries. Receiving SMS is always free of charge within the EU anyway.
Example: vacation in Italy
Incoming calls in Italy are free from any country. Outgoing calls from Italy in other EU countries to another EU country are processed according to the free units. If you have used up your free units, the same applies to calls within Germany pro Minute (e.g. 10 cents/min) or pro SMS passed on – there is no extra foreign surcharge here.
What is the cost of calls / SMS in other EU countries to a non-EU country?
The billing takes place here according to the tariff flat rate for one minute in the respective non-EU country plus roaming fee. It can get really expensive here because the EU regulation does not cover such cases.
Example: Vacation in Finland, call / SMS to Mexico
Calling or texting in Finland to the non-EU country Mexico is charged according to the roaming charges for an outgoing call/text to Mexico. The price table for such fees can be found at his Profour.
Does this mean that domestic calls abroad no longer cost anything?
That is not right. Roaming is not just international telephony! This means that calls abroad from home will continue to be charged as usual according to the flat rate. Only calls and SMS in other EU countries to another EU country are included in the free minutes and SMS. One could actually say that it is therefore worthwhile to make calls to another EU country and to travel to another EU country.
Can I use the Internet in other EU countries?
Yes, but not unlimited. The tariffs have an EU data limit that can be used in other EU countries. Using a formula prescribed by the EU, you can determine the available data volume abroad yourself. This formula is a bit complicated, but we try to explain it as best we can.
Formula for calculating the data limit in other EU countries
Monthly tariff fee / 1,2 (VAT 20%) / 7,70*2 = available GB in other EU countries. In this formula, the number 7,70 represents the price that the Provider in other EU countries to the provider abroad pro UK pays. In addition, this price will be gradually reduced to 2022/GB by 2,20. Consequently proWe, as customers, are also fit with the ever-increasing usable volume in other EU countries.
If the result is higher than the units actually included in the tariff, these will no longer be. As a result, only the entire volume in other EU countries could be used without additional costs. What happens when the volume is used up is shown below.
Throttling, data stop & billing when the data volumes are exceeded
After using the calculated data limit, you can continue to use the remaining volume in other EU countries with a surcharge of max. 0,009023 EUR / MB. Here, however, you have to differentiate between the three available options:
Possibility 1 - Throttling: If the tariff includes throttling if the rate is exceeded, you can continue surfing in other EU countries with throttling at no extra cost.
Option 2 - data stop: data may no longer be used when the GB limit is reached. If this rule applies, the shutdown of the Internet is also valid in other EU countries.
Possibility 3 – Billing based on consumption: If the billing continues based on consumption when the limit is exceeded, this is also the case abroad. The same prices apply here pro MB as domestic.
Example of the formula: Tariff by 10 euros pro Month
For example, you have 5GB of data volume for a basic fee of 10 euros pro Month. According to this formula, the calculation would result in the following: 10 / 1,2 / 7,70*2 = 2,16GB in other EU countries. This means that these 2,2 GB can be used in other EU countries without additional costs if they have not yet been used.
Example: vacation in Spain
All pretty complicated. We'll make a simple example out of it. In the summer you go to Spain and according to the formula in other EU countries you can use a full 20GB of your 5GB abroad. We assume that you have not yet used any data and that your tariff does not throttle, but billing pro MB is provided.
- 5GB of mobile data can be used in other EU countries without additional costs.
- 5GB to 20GB we continue surfing with the data volume like at home with a surcharge to EU roaming.
- After 20GB we have completely used up the data. Now it continues as stipulated in the tariff with billing based on consumption. There are no more additional costs here *.
* Some information on EU roaming could change further before the start of the EU regulation. Therefore, the article is regularly expanded and updated with the latest information.
Thanks for that! Unfortunately, my provider was too incompetent to give me proper information about it.
Feedback on the formula: not the gross but the net price belongs at the beginning of the invoice. LG
Hello jana! True, of course, has been corrected 🙂