Irish roaming charges are competitive, says watchdog

ROAMING charges on Irish mobile phones are lower or as competitive as the EU average, according to a study by the Commission for Communications Regulation.

Using a mobile phone abroad has become less expensive in recent months and while the average price of an Irish text message sent while roaming is in line with the EU average, this cost is considerably higher than sending a text message at home, ComReg reports.

ComReg has welcomed reduced costs for Irish consumers when making and receiving calls while travelling in the EU.

However, ComReg also points out that roaming charges are billed in some cases on a per-minute basis rather than per second.

“This has the effect of charging users for unused service portions, and the information notice highlights this by detailing the pricing for various call durations for each operator,” the report states.

An analysis of data for EU/EEA calls made and received confirms compliance by all Irish mobile operators with regard to the regulatory price ceiling. Calls made and received to the rest of the world, outside the EU, have been consistently lower than the EU average over four collection periods, ComReg found.

Roaming regulations now require mobile service providers to send a free personalised pricing text message (SMS) to an individual’s mobile while roaming in the EU.

In addition, service providers are required to provide a free number where detailed price information may be obtained.

ComReg reports it received no complaints from mobile operators in regard to not receiving the regulated wholesale price cap rate for roaming on other networks from other mobile network operators.