The Easter holidays come closer and many people want to travel again. User users should pay attention to a detail during a holiday abroad.
- Smartphone use on vacation: Attention from unimaginable cost traps
- Smartphone users Watched: Roaming fees pay attention to costs within the EU are leased
- Smartphone users beware: Avoid cost traps – Beware in Switzerland, Turkey & Co
- Smartphone users beware: These countries fall into a gray zone
- smartphone users beware: save costs by proper preparation
- smartphone users beware: ships, ferries, aircraft are considered special cases
Potsdam (dpa / tmn) – with the smartphone send a holiday snapshot to his loved ones home: that can be expensive – or at all costs. Depending on where you are traveling and what a mobile phone contract you have. Although there are no roaming premiums within the EU since the summer of 2017, but cost troughs are still lurking here and there.
Smartphone use on vacation: Attention from unimaginable cost traps
“Roam Like at Home” is often mentioned by the European Union-regulated telephone calls and surfing in other EU countries. Europeans traveling in another EU country is calculated there for phone calls, SMS and data as much as they would pay at home.
An example of the Stiftung Warentest: Who as a German mobile phone user spends his vacation in Spain, pays so much for all calls in German and Spanish networks as agreed in the contract for home discussions. In many cases, only the usual basic fee of the Flatrate tariff.
Smartphone users Watched: Roaming fees pay attention to costs within the EU are leased
Important: “Roam Like at Home” does not apply to the homeland. For example, anyone who talks about Germany from Germany to the EU holiday country to clarify something to the hotel in advance must expect fees. That explains Michèle Scherer from the consumer center Brandenburg. But here, too, the EU has already intervened regulatory.
“Who from Germany with the mobile phone or landline telephoned into other EU countries and has no flatrate or special tariff, pays a maximum of 19 cents per minute and a maximum of 6 cents are due per SMS,” says the consumer protector. However, the costume covers also applies if a German vacationer telephoned in Spain to France.
In addition to the 12 EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (more about digital at mobile phone) are included in the EU countries within the meaning of the Roaming Regulation.
Smartphone users beware: Avoid cost traps – Beware in Switzerland, Turkey & Co
Cost traps lurk in borderlands as well as during transit through Switzerland. And Turkey is a popular holiday destination, where tourists should not forget that they are not in the EU, Michèle Scherer admonishes.
For all non-EU countries, the consumer protector advises to review the price list for their own mobile tariff in advance and disable data roaming in the smartphone settings. About the fees incurred when using mobile phone use in the respective country, mobile service providers must inform you in the appropriate foreign network via SMS.
With Brexit, another country has come since early 2022, which could be surprisingly expensive for vacationers. Because since the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the mobile operators are no longer bound to the roaming regulation. According to the Foundation Warentest, they hold themselves voluntarily for the time being.
Smartphone users beware: These countries fall into a gray zone
It is similar with countries and territories such as San Marino, Andorra, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Vatican City or Overseas Rest in the Caribbean. They do not fall under the EU Roaming Regulation. But according to the Warentestern, you will be counted by some of all providers, collective bargaining to the EU countries.
Who calls in non-EU countries or uses mobile data, must expect high fees. Depending on the country and providers, you can lie for several euros per minute. After all, when surfing internationally, a protective screen engages: with a total of 59.50 euros is usually concluded, explains Michèle Scherer. If this protective mechanism is technically not feasible in a country, providers must inform about SMS.
smartphone users beware: save costs by proper preparation
To save unnecessary costs, holidaymakers and vacationers should basically check their mobile phone tariff and the terms for the destination country, advises Scherer. Maybe there is cheap foreign options at the provider? Is not the Wi-Fi on site?
And maybe you can easily call themselves from the at the same time in distant countries and prepares the stay by downloading music, videos or cards before departing on the smartph1. And whoever travels into a country often, possibly drives with the purchase of a local SIM card well. Many smartphones can operate two connections in parallel (dual-SIM).
smartphone users beware: ships, ferries, aircraft are considered special cases
Despite all caution after the holiday a juicy mobile phone bill into the house, it is possibly tapped to another cost trap.
The mobile networks of cruise ships, ferries and aircraft.
They do not fall under the roaming regulation.
There are “completely different priced horizons than on the ground,” warns Michèle Scherer.
So there is also data roaming, do not telephone and send no messages, at least not before you know the rates.
Finally, good news: Actually, the EU roaming regime would have expired at the end of June 2022.
But the European Parliament has now adopted the proposal of the EU Commission to extend the elimination of roaming fees for ten more years.
The law must only be formally approved by the European Council to enter into force.