The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has released its 8th Benchmark Report on international roaming on Europe’s public mobile telephone networks, covering the period from 01 January to 30 June 2011.
The study shows that good levels of compliance with the Roaming Regulation (Regulation EC no. 717/2007 of 27 June, as subsequently amended by Regulation EC no. 544/2009 of 18 June) continue to exist in all Member States of the European Union (EU) and in the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) - Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (where Regulation EC no. 544/200 only entered into force during the 2nd quarter of 2010, with Regulation EC no. 717/2007 of 27 June applying until then).
The information compiled by BEREC shows that all consumers have access to the Eurotariff - a tariff where the maximum price of intra-EU/EEA roaming voice communications (receiving and making calls) is capped under the regulation.
Since 1 July 2009, consumers have also had access to the Euro-SMS tariff, under which the price of an SMS sent using intra-EU/EEA roaming has also been capped pursuant to the regulation.
In terms of calls made, the European average of the Eurotariff (calculated using the data of all the countries which responded to BEREC’s questionnaire) fell from €0.359/minute in the 1st quarter of 2011 to €0.354/minute in the 2nd quarter of 2011 (compared to a cap of €0.39/minute currently in force under the Eurotariff). In terms of calls received, the European average of the Eurotariff fell to €0.129/minute in the 1st quarter of 2011 and to €0.126 in the 2nd quarter of 2011 (compared to a cap of €0.15/minute currently in force under the Eurotariff).
According to the BEREC study, the average price of the Euro-SMS tariff was approximately 0.10 euros/SMS in the first two quarters of 2011, below the cap of 0.11 euros/SMS established in the regulation to apply with respect to the Euro-SMS tariff.
Meanwhile, reporting on roaming data services for communications which are “non-group” (set of entities which are not owned, in full or in their majority, by the corporate group in which the operator is included), the average of intra-EU/EEA tariffs has continued to fall. In the case of pre-paid tariffs, a reduction has been reported from €2.207/Mb in 1st quarter 2011 to €2.170/Mb in 2nd quarter 2011. In the case of post-paid tariffs, the intra-EU/EEA average was €2.182/Mb in 1st quarter of 2011 and €2.028/Mb in 2nd quarter 2011.
At wholesale level, the tariffs established between operators for voice communications in roaming are in line with the caps stipulated under the regulation, as are the wholesale tariffs applicable to the transfer of SMS and other data communication services. The average wholesale tariff for voice communications in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2011 was reported at € 0.183/minute billed, compared to the established cap of € 0.22/minute.
In terms of SMS, the average EU/EEA wholesale tariff in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2011 was reported at €0.038/SMS, whereas the cap established under the regulation is set at €0.04/SMS. The average wholesale tariff for data was €0.385/Mb and €0.355/Mb respectively in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2011, under the cap of €0.80/Mb set under the regulation.
Further information:
- International Roaming BEREC Benchmark Data Report January 2011 - June 2011 http://berec.europa.eu/eng/document_register/subject_matter/berec/download/0/238-international-roaming-berec-benchmark-da_0.pdf
