ANACOM launched an awareness campaign today, June 24, on international roaming with the goal of informing consumers about the new prices for using mobile phones while roaming. The new prices come into force on 1 July, and it is essential that anyone travelling abroad knows about them.
The campaign, which was developed by Brandia Central, uses the Internet, newspapers and a network of 600 advertising panels, and only ends in September. The aim is to give travellers the information they need before they travel, with respect to the international roaming service, seeking to lead target consumers to a website - Roaming Light - created for this purpose, where they can find useful information and which provides access to information and a useful set of tools that make it easier to obtain information from all operators.
The campaign sets out to promote a mental association between travel/roaming and crisis/lowering costs, driving consumers to seek information on how they can reduce their roaming bills.
This campaign comes in the context of the adoption by the Council of Ministers of the European Union, on 8 June 2009 of the amendment of Regulation (EC) no 717/2007 on roaming on the public mobile telephone networks within the Community. This amendment provides for the establishment of new prices to be charged by operators for voice communications and text messages (SMS). The price of calls made is 0.43 cents per minute and 0.19 cents for received calls, cut from the current 0.46 cents and 0.22 cents. In the case of SMS, the Eurotariff within the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein may not exceed 0.11 cents. The tariffs for data communications in roaming will also fall, with the establishment of an average wholesale price which shall not exceed one euro per megabyte downloaded.
ANACOM deemed it essential to conduct this national campaign, to make users of roaming services aware of the new rules, which are binding on operators belonging to the European Union and the European Economic Area as of 1 July 2009.
