Iceland reduces roaming tariffs

Iceland’s regulator the Post and Telecommunication Administration (PTA) has announced that new maximum tariffs for use of roaming services within the European Union (EU) area are to come into effect in the country from 1 July 2013. Iceland benefits from the revised legislation for roaming within the EU, as the agreement is valid throughout the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the EU, Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein. According to the press release, the new roaming price caps are as follows: to initiate a call within the EU will cost a maximum of ISK47.63 (USD0.39) per minute; to reply to a voice call – ISK13.89 per minute; to send a SMS – ISK15.87, while receiving an SMS is free of charge; and data is priced at ISK89.30 per MB of traffic. The operators are also required to inform customers when they have reached 80% of their data allowance, set at EUR50 (EUR66.09), unless the subscriber has requested otherwise. In contrast, the prior charge caps for roaming services in Iceland in summer 2012 were as follows: to initiate a voice call – ISK60.90 per minute; to receive a voice call – ISK13.89 per minute; to send a SMS – ISK18.90, while receiving a text message was free; and data was priced at ISK147.02 per MB.