Czechs are enjoying the end of roaming services in the European Union. They call, send SMS and surf the Internet abroad. Despite this, mobile services in the Czech Republic are still among the most expensive in the member countries. How did the cancellation of roaming affect us and where do we use the most mobile services? The abolition of roaming could not have come at a better time than before the summer months. The holidays are always a time when people go on foreign vacations. Now, they no longer have to worry that they will pay CZK 10 for one SMS sent or that one call to the Czech Republic will cost them several tens of crowns. Now the prices in the member countries are equal to the domestic prices.
Czechs use more data on the beach than in the mountains
Numbers mobile operators speaks clearly, after the abolition of roaming charges, Czechs from abroad call and date three times more. At domestic prices, people most often use mobile services in Austria, Germany and Slovakia. As far as the largest volume of data is concerned, Croatia is the clear leader, where data consumption has increased up to fifty times. At the same time, Czechs in Italy are also surfing on a large scale. "Czech tourists date much more on the beaches. In particular, they share photos on social networks. The record was set on July 7 this year, when O2 customers transferred the largest amount of data in one day. They would fit tens of millions of photos taken by smartphones,” says director of the mobile segment at O2 Silvia Cieslarová. There is nothing strange about the fact that people most often date in the southern states of Europe. Relaxing on the beach gives them more space to share photos and surf the Internet compared to an active vacation in the mountains.
You call for domestic prices not only from EU countries
The European Union directive abolishing roaming charges applies from 15 June 2017. Vodafone and also T-Mobile but they allowed their clients to call, text and date without extra charges earlier. O2 operator he waited until the effective date of the directive. But roaming certainly does not end completely. Mobile services are still expensive outside the European Union. In addition to the 28 member countries, the regulation also applies to Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. On the contrary, people should be careful in Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican and Madeira, where the opinions of the operators differ, so you will not be able to call from these countries at domestic prices with some providers.
Compared to foreigners, Czechs call and surf more expensively even at home
Despite the abolition of roaming charges in the EU, mobile services used abroad are still expensive. The reason is the high tariff prices of domestic operators. Compared to other nationalities, Czechs surf the Internet and call from abroad at high prices. The solution could be to buy a SIM card abroad. However, if you were to use it in the country for a long time, then the operator could accuse you of abusing the services. According to EU directives there would be nothing stopping him from charging you a roaming fee.
