From 1 January 2023 the costs of surfing abroad have changed, here’s how to know how much you’re spending
With the arrival of 2023, using your smartphone in another European country will have different costs than in recent years. From 1 January, in fact, the new tariffs of the legislation took effect Roam like at home which pertains to the the roaming and data traffic, i.e. the consumption of gigabytes to navigate. Until 31 December 2022 even those who had a plan with unlimited Giga had a consumption limit, beyond which a surcharge calculated by doubling the price of the package (excluding VAT) divided by the ceiling set for wholesale prices (equal to 4.50 EUR). For example: if you had a mobile service package in your country which includes calls, text messages and 20 Giga for 10 euroswhen traveling in the EU you could take advantage of unlimited calls, SMS and about 5 GB of data by spending 2 x (10:4.5) or about 4.40 euros.
What changes now for data roaming in the EU
From 2023, the ceiling for wholesale prices is dropped to 1.80 euros. Therefore the calculation to be made is «2 x package price (excluding VAT) / 1.80 euros». In essence, therefore, we will have more traffic available by spending less. And this decrease in costs will continue in the coming years, in fact since January 1, 2024 the ceiling will decrease up to €1.55 (still excluding VAT), while from 1 January 2025 it will drop to €1.30 (still with VAT excluded). Finally, from 1 January 2026 and 2027 it will be 1.10 and 1 euro per Giga (always excluding VAT).
How much will we pay for the extra Giga
Also starting in 2023 the tariffs for the extra consumption of Giga also decrease (those that exceed the threshold indicated by our plan): it goes from 0.00244 euros to 0.00219 euros per single Megabyte (VAT included). To give an idea, an extra Giga will cost approx €2.2. To really be sure it’s the correct cost, the always sound advice is to check directly via site or app of your operator what are the directions for the country you are going to.
