Citizens of the European Union enjoy the many advantages of belonging to the single market. To facilitate the exchange of goods and trade between the different member states, the European Union has been establishing common policies in different areas that serve to improve people’s daily lives.
In this sense, telephony , especially since the arrival of smartphones, is a service highly demanded by consumers and requires a common policy that will put an end to the extra costs of communication in calls between the different member countries.
After abolishing roaming charges in 2017, the European Union has taken measures to end the excessive costs that cross-border calls that are made from the country of origin to another European country sometimes have. Thanks to these new policies, European consumers extend their rights and are protected against possible high telephone bills when traveling or speaking with another European country.
International calls
These are calls made within the national territory to a mobile or landline phone that is not Spanish. As a general rule, these calls have a higher cost for the consumer than a local call and it is advisable to find out from the operator about the rates they establish for this type of call.
From May 15, 2019 , the price of intra-community calls (between countries of the European Union) may not exceed 0.19 cents per minute (plus VAT) , nor 0.06 cents per message (plus VAT ). ) . In practice it means that calling a French or German telephone number cannot cost the consumer more than that amount.
However, operators may offer you fixed rates (the well-known call packages) for international calls, including intra-community calls, with prices different from those established by law.
In this case, remember that the operator must inform you of the advantages of choosing the call package and as a consumer, you must expressly choose it. In case of not doing so, the calls will be charged at the stipulated price of 0.19 cents.
For those consumers who were already covered by these fixed rates, the legislation establishes two months to confirm that they continue with them, otherwise the new rates for the European Union will be automatically applied .
“Roaming” in the European Union
International roaming or roaming is a service that allows users of mobile phones and other electronic devices to make and receive calls, as well as send or receive messages and connect to the Internet abroad, keeping the same telephone number they use in their country. .
Since June 2017, consumers who travel through the countries of the European Union have seen improved telephony conditions abroad since the European regulations on roaming came into force, which eliminated roaming within member countries and allows users to keep the same rate as in their countries of origin. According to this regulation, the mobile rate will be the same as the one in the country of origin and therefore, the operators will not be able to apply any surcharge, including MMS, as long as they call or receive calls from a country within the European Union and the stay is temporary and not permanent.
These new improvements will be applied to contract and prepaid rates and the consumption limit will be that of the contracted plan in the country of origin where the service was contracted. In addition, to avoid possible abusive or anomalous use of these new roaming services , it is established that to benefit from it, they cannot exceed four months . After this date, it will be understood that the stay is permanent and the company may contact the consumer to regularize or ask him to pay a surcharge for improper use of the line.
To carry out this control, the operator may request, within a period of 15 days after the four months , that you provide proof of habitual residence in that member country that implies a frequent presence in its territory.
As indicators of these abusive uses , the following may be used:
- Long periods of inactivity for a given SIM card coupled with primary roaming usage.
- The sequential activation and use of multiple SIM cards by the same customer when roaming.
In addition, when the operator detects that a series of SIM cards have been the object of organized resale to persons who do not actually reside or have stable links that imply a frequent and substantial presence in the Member State of that operator, the operator may apply surcharges to the user.
So… what are international calls and what is roaming? Some concrete examples.
As we have previously mentioned, roaming calls are those made from outside of Spain , in this case, all calls made will be roaming, including:
- When you are in Germany, you call a German phone.
- When you are in Germany, you call a Spanish phone, even if that phone is outside of Spain.
- When you are in Germany, you call an Italian phone.
- When being in Germany you receive a call.
On the other hand, international calls are those made from Spain to a telephone number that is not Spanish. They are international calls:
- When you are in Spain you call a German phone.
Countries outside the European Union
In the event that you travel to a country outside the European Union, it is convenient to take into account that when you make a call, you will pay the rate stipulated by your operator for the country you visit.
In the event that you make a call from Spain to a country outside the European Union, you will be charged as an international call.
For this reason, it is recommended that you find out about the prices that the operators establish for the roaming service and compare the different offers, in order to avoid high bills.
Due to Brexit , please note that European roaming regulations no longer apply in the UK ; just as it also affects international calls.
