22.12.2021 

From 1 January 2022, the volume of data (MB/GB) that can be consumed when roaming in the EU/EEA will be extended for most tariff plans, without the application of additional charges, due to a decrease in the regulated wholesale tariff.

Furthermore, after the data allowance provided by the Fair Use Policy (FUP) for roaming services in the EU/EEA has been exhausted, the surcharges that may be levied for subsequent consumption will also decrease:

• the data surcharge will decrease by approximately 16%, from 3 to 2.5 Euro/GB, VAT not included;
• the surcharge for incoming calls will decrease by approximately 5%, from 0.76 to 0.72 eurocents/minute, VAT not included.

Moreover, according to the provisions of ANCOM President’s Decision no. 267/2021, the maximum surcharge which the provider RCS & RDS S.A. will be able to levy for its users’ roaming calls received in the EEA, between 1 January and 30 June 2022, cannot exceed 0.72 eurocents/minute, VAT not included.

Roaming data surcharges

From 15 June 2017, data (mobile internet - MB/GB) consumed while roaming in the EU/EEA (EU + Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) is charged, in principle, at the same tariff as in Romania. However, for most tariff plans, providers may set a data volume that can be consumed while roaming in the EU/EEA at no additional charges during one billing cycle (FUP data volume).

From 1 January 2022 the FUP data volume will increase by about 16% compared to the current one.

After the FUP data volume has been exhausted, providers will be able to levy a surcharge for subsequent consumption, even where included traffic volumes may be still available to users. From 1 January 2022, this surcharge cannot exceed 2.5 Euro/GB (0.25 eurocents/MB), VAT not included.

FUP data volume for roaming in EU/EEA, from 1 January 2022

a)    for tariff plans which include an unlimited domestic data volume (based on prepaid plans, subscriptions, (extra)options), or for tariff plans where the price per unit (GB) is lower than 2.5 Euro, VAT not included, users roaming in the EEA will be allowed to consume the following data volume, at no additional charges, expressed in GB:                       

                     the retail price for mobile services during a billing cycle, VAT not included

       2 x         ___________________________________________________________

                                                                        2.5 Euro                 

 

b)    for prepaid cards without an included data volume (based on a per-unit charging system - per MB/GB), users will initially be able to consume the following data roaming volume while travelling in the EEA, at no additional charges, expressed in GB (pay-as-you-go):

 

                             the credit still available on the prepaid card at the entry in EU/EEA roaming

                            ________________________________________________________________

                                                                        2.5 Euro            

 

RLAH data allowance calculator: an ANCOM widget

To help the users estimate the amount of data they can consume while roaming in the EU/EEA without incurring a surcharge, ANCOM has developed a widget application, available here. It generates relevant results for all users of roaming-enabled tariff plans, except for those of RCS & RDS S.A., as this operator is authorized to levy roaming surcharges from the first consumption unit.

The application will be updated on 1 January 2022, taking into account the new tariff, i.e. 2.5 Euro/GB.

Read more on "Roam like at home" in the dedicated section, on the ANCOM InfoCentre, here.