New EU roaming regulations were announced earlier this month
Starting from 15 June, three mobile operators in Croatia (HT, Vipnet and Tele2 Croatia) will implement the new EU roaming regulations. The operators are not planning to increase service prices at this time, Novi list reports.
The new regulations mark the end of roaming services with varying rates for mobile communication in Europe. Roaming prices for the use of telecommunication networks outside of one’s home country will match the local prices for mobile calls, text messaging and data usage as the citizens travel around Europe (EU countries, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein).
Roaming prices used to be higher than those for local mobile communication services, leading to speculations that operators might increase their service prices to compensate for the losses.
Following an inquiry from Hina, the largest teleoperator in Croatia HT announced they will implement new prices from 15 June for the EU/EAA countries that will match the local retail prices. “The new regulations won’t affect the current local prices for HT services. When in roaming, the users will pay the equivalent of the national prices for data usage, mobile calls and text messages, according to the local tariff they are using. To prevent possible excessive use of roaming services in EU/EAA countries, there is a chance of charging additional roaming fees in cases defined by roaming regulations.” announced HT.
The second largest operator in Croatia Vipnet will implement the modified regulations as well. “Vipnet may eventually decide to change prices and tariffs after detailed analyses of the actual effects of new roaming regulations, all the while looking after the users’ satisfaction and needs”, they said.
Tele2 Croatia announced they will inform the users on details and conditions of the new regulations on time. As the upcoming tourist season presents a very lucrative period for the operators, they have already planned options for foreign guests coming to vacation in Croatia. “The end of roaming charges in EU will affect our income, but also the users’ behaviour. They’ll be able to use their own local tariff within the EU, leading to more calls and an increase in data usage”, announced TELE2.
Operators believe the new roaming regulations won’t have such a substantial effect on Croatian operators as on those in the rest of Europe, and that a popular tourist country such as Croatia can expect an increase in income from tourists who will use their tariffs in Croatia during the season.
