Regulated international calls and SMS

By publishing the Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office), amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009 the European Union institutions implemented regulation of prices for international communications within the European Economic Area (EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.), entering into force on 15 May 2019.

Article 5a of the amended Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council limits the maximum retail price (excluding VAT) charged to consumers for regulated intra-EU communications from 15 May 2019 to  EUR 0,19 per minute for calls  and EUR 0,06 per SMS message . When converting the caps to currencies other than Euro, an average of the reference exchange rates published by the European Central Bank in the Official Journal of the EU on 15 January, 15 February and 15 March of the same year should be used.

The regulation of the international communication by the European Union institutions applies only to consumers, thus to natural persons using this service for purposes outside business activity framework.

Similar to regulation of retail prices for international roaming within the EEA, the operators may, in exceptional circumstances, exceed the price caps and charge the consumers with higher prices, if they prove to CTU, that application of price caps may jeopardize sustainability of their domestic charging model. Detailed rules how the operators have to prove unsustainability of their domestic charging model to CTU is set by BEREC Guidelines including a form template, which the operators should complete and attach to their application for a one-year derogation from the price regulation. CTU publishes a working and unofficial translation of BEREC guidelines into Czech language, including an Annex, which can be used by those interested in applying for an exemption.

Further information

List of the BEREC Guidelines
List of the EU Regulations

Top