14.05.2019

The tariffs for calls and SMS from Romania to numbers in any country of the European Economic Area (European Union member states, as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) will be capped at EUR 0.19/minute (VAT not included) and EUR 0.06/SMS (VAT not included). The caps have been set by an EU regulation that enters into force on 15 May 2019.

Capped tariffs

The tariff caps will apply only to calls and SMS towards numbers in the EEA under pay-as-you-go regime. Call minutes and SMS resources included in subscriptions/add-ons are outside the scope of these caps. However, once the included resources have been consumed, the applicable tariffs cannot exceed the regulated caps.

The tariffs charged for calls and SMS to Premium Rate numbers in the EEA could exceed the amount of the regulated caps because in this case the tariffs also contain costs other than those related to communications (for example, the cost of the content service offered via that number).

Providers may also launch alternative offers including calls or SMS both in the EEA and outside the EEA at rates higher than the EEA-regulated caps. However, consumers have to explicitly choose these offers. Moreover, where they have chosen an alternative offer for international communications services, consumers have the right to revert to the caps regulated for calls and SMS to EEA numbers, free of charge.

Where are the tariff caps applied?

These capped tariffs will apply for calls and SMS made/sent from Romania to other EU member states, as well as to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. They will also apply for calls and SMS made/sent from Romania to certain outermost European territories, i.e. French Guyana, the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion, Saint-Martin (only the part of the island belonging to France), the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands, and in the Åland Islands. The EU regulation applies, for the time being, also to calls and SMS from Romania to numbers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, respectively towards numbers in Gibraltar.

Intra-EU calls and SMS

Intra-EU communications (calls and SMS) are different from “Roam like at home” (RLAH). Intra-EU communications are calls/SMS made/sent from the country where the subscription/prepay card has been purchased, to destinations (numbers) in any other EEA country. A user benefits from roaming electronic communications services (RLAH) when travelling to another EEA country than the one where the subscription/prepay card has been purchased. The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has launched a video explaining the difference between intra-EU calls/SMS and RLAH calls/SMS.