04.08.2020

ANCOM recommends the users to check the usage conditions for their data and telephony roaming services, as well as their device settings, before going on holiday, either to the border areas of Romania or to foreign countries where no travel restrictions are in place during the pandemic. Thus, the users can avoid inadvertent roaming charges. When travelling in border areas, the users are recommended to turn off the automatic network selection option, whereas when travelling abroad, one must check whether the contracted tariff plan includes roaming services. Moreover, one should pay attention to the EUR 50 spending cap and alerts while using the mobile phone outside the country.

Travels to border areas of Romania

Users travelling in Romania should be aware that there is a risk of inadvertent roaming, especially in border areas, if they have activated the roaming service and their mobile phone or tablet is set to automatic network selection. In such cases, the device used will automatically connect to the network of the operator with the strongest signal at the respective location, which may be the network of an operator from a neighbouring country. The users travelling in such locations are recommended to check the messages received from the operator, who is obliged to send announcements regarding the charges applied for roaming services.

Users who remain within the Romanian borders and yet inadvertently connect to a neighbouring country’s network will be charged for roaming communication services, as if they were physically on the territory of the neighbouring state.

Using a phone/tablet in inadvertent roaming does not exempt the user from paying for this service!

For enabling the users to know exactly where inadvertent roaming is possible, along with publishing the list of relevant border localities on the ANCOM website here, ANCOM included the respective localities in the interactive map aisemnal.ro. Thus, by accessing aisemnal.ro, in addition to the information about the signal level, the users can also see the border areas where they risk involuntarily connecting to base stations located in the neighbouring countries and thus incur roaming charges.

Travels to EU/EEA

Upon the entry into force of the EU Regulation “Roam like at home”, customers of mobile operators in Romania with EU/EEA roaming-enabled tariff plans can use the domestic resources provided in their tariff plans (voice, SMS and data) across the EU Member States, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. “Roam like at home” also applies in certain outermost European territories, namely 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, in the Åland Islands, and in Gibraltar.

Although as of 1 February 2020, the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union, the Brexit Agreement provides for a transitional period, when most of the European regulations continue to apply in relations between the two parties. Thus, Romanian users who occasionally travel to the United Kingdom will benefit from roaming at national rates, at least until 31 December 2020.

Providers may set certain EU/EEA roaming conditions (fair use policy) to prevent abusive or abnormal use of this service for purposes other than occasional travels outside Romania – e.g. to prevent permanent roaming in the EU/EEA.

Where the fair use policy limits have been exceeded, the providers may apply certain surcharges, in addition to the domestic tariffs, for the subsequent provision of EU/EEA roaming services, but only after prior notice. 

Further details on the Fair Use Policy for roaming services are available in ANCOM’s InfoCentre, here.

Travels outside the EU/EEA

ANCOM recommends the users travelling outside the EU/EEA to check whether their tariff plan includes the international roaming service and whether the provider of this service has concluded roaming contracts with the providers from the visited countries.

ANCOM advises the users to check, before making a trip to countries outside the EEA, what are the international roaming tariffs applicable in these countries.

More information is available here.

The EUR 50 spending cap for roaming mobile internet

The users travelling abroad, either to the EU/EEA or outside this area, have the right to benefit from a default spending cap of EUR 50/month (excluding VAT) when using the roaming mobile internet service, if they have not opted for another ceiling from the providers' commercial offers. Mobile roaming internet services will be limited at the (default or chosen) ceiling where a user has not utterly agreed to continue benefiting from the service or has not expressly chosen to remove the default ceiling.

Further information on the usage and costs of roaming services is available here.