Parliament adopted the Law on the regulation of roaming tariffs with EU member states on April 17. It was drafted by the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization in order to harmonize the cost of international mobile communication between Moldova and the EU countries, thus significantly reducing it. In addition, prerequisites are being created for Moldova’s inclusion in the roaming zone according to the EU national tariffs (“Roaming like at home”).
The law introduces the restriction of tariffs for calls, SMS and mobile data usage in roaming for users from Moldova traveling to the EU member states. The tariff will be equal to the national tariff. Consumers are expected to save between 30% and 70% of their current roaming costs, depending on the type of services used. This restriction will be introduced gradually until a level comparable to the EU tariff level is reached, in line with European roaming legislation. In the long term, roaming charges will be completely abolished.
Mobile service providers are required to send automatic notifications to users when they enter a roaming zone, as well as to provide clear and detailed information on the cost of each service provided and the applicable consumption limits. This has led to a requirement to create a mechanism to control roaming tariffs, and providers that violate the law will be subject to sanctions.
As of January 1, 2024, the roaming tariffs between Moldova and the EU member states were reduced after the ratification of the Agreement signed between Moldova and the EU. Therefore, the use of roaming services offered by mobile operators located both in our country and in EU countries has significantly increased.
Thus, last year the call traffic of users from European countries who called subscribers in Moldova exceeded 10.8 million minutes. At the same time, Moldovan residents who traveled abroad used more than one billion GB, which is three times more than in 2023.
