The reduction of charges for international telephone calls within the EU will take effect from today, May 15, 2019.
Telecommunications providers are now required to charge new and much lower fees for home calls to other countries within the European Union, including countries in the European Economic Area (Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland).
The Commission has already determined since last year that the single maximum cost of international telephone calls from landline or mobile phone to another mobile or landline phone within the EU will now amount to 0.19 euros per minute of speech, while the cost of shipping of short text messages (SMS) will be 0.06 euros (not for MMS services – text messages that include image or video).
To these prices will be added VAT, which will depend on the Member State of the operator (telephony company) of the caller. However, only in our country does the telephone fee apply, which varies depending on the number of calls, to which VAT is added (ie, a tax is levied on another tax!).
As part of the implementation of the new measure, the Commission issued a statement with questions and answers on the maximum prices on calls within the EU.
How much will phone calls and SMS be sent from one EU country to another?
Example: Julia lives in Italy and her daughter works in Belgium. She usually calls her daughter on the phone for about two hours a month. Calling from a landline network with a national Italian connection program would cost € 0.89 per minute, which means that Julia would spend about € 105 each month. Under the new rules, he will pay a maximum of 0.23 euros (including VAT) per minute of call, so a maximum of 27 euros for the same duration of calls! This amount is four times less than the previous one and entails a total savings of 78 euros each month.
What is the difference between roaming and international calls?
Roaming is the service provided when someone uses their mobile phone while traveling to another country. It is recalled that as of June 15, 2017, EU citizens can roam domestically when traveling within the EU. Citizens are already using their mobile phones abroad within the EU at no extra charge.
International calls and SMS messages (so-called intercommunications) are calls to another EU country by landline or landline, while consumers are in their home country. It should be noted that as long as one is abroad, one’s calls are roaming calls and are subject to EU rules on roaming.
In which countries do the new rules apply?
In the 28 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Malta, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Will the rule apply to everyone?
The maximum price limit applies only to personal use, ie to private customers. Corporate customers are excluded from this pricing arrangement.
Are there any restrictions on the use of fine words or SMS messages?
No, there are no limits.
How will EU citizens be informed on May 15 of the new prices?
Exploitation operators offering their services to the EU are required to disclose new charges in a manner they choose (eg via SMS or e-mail).
What will happen in the case of service packages?
If consumers have a package that includes a specified volume of international calls and SMS within the EU at a predetermined price, then the price limit does not apply. However, if consumers feel that their package no longer offers the best quality/price ratio, they can claim the charge per minute for intercom calls and SMS messages.
Source: Internet
