Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 1 U.K. Subject matter and scope

1. This Regulation introduces a common approach to ensuring that users of public mobile communications networks, when travelling within the Union, do not pay excessive prices for Union-wide roaming services in comparison with competitive national prices, when making calls and receiving calls, when sending and receiving SMS messages and when using packet switched data communication services, thereby contributing to the smooth functioning of the internal market while achieving a high level of consumer protection, fostering competition and transparency in the market and offering both incentives for innovation and consumer choice.

It lays down rules to enable the separate sale of regulated roaming services from domestic mobile communications services and sets out the conditions for wholesale access to public mobile communications networks for the purpose of providing regulated roaming services. It also lays down transitory rules on the charges that may be levied by roaming providers for the provision of regulated roaming services for voice calls and SMS messages originating and terminating within the Union and for packet switched data communication services used by roaming customers while roaming on a mobile communications network within the Union. It applies both to charges levied by network operators at wholesale level and to charges levied by roaming providers at retail level.

2. The separate sale of regulated roaming services from domestic mobile communications services is a necessary intermediate step to increase competition so as to lower roaming tariffs for customers in order to achieve an internal market for mobile communication services and ultimately for there to be no differentiation between national and roaming tariffs.

3. This Regulation also lays down rules aimed at increasing price transparency and improving the provision of information on charges to users of roaming services.

4. This Regulation constitutes a specific measure within the meaning of Article 1(5) of the Framework Directive.

5. The maximum charges set out in this Regulation are expressed in euro.

6. Where maximum charges under Articles 7, 9 and 12 are denominated in currencies other than the euro, the initial limits pursuant to those Articles shall be determined in those currencies by applying the reference exchange rates published on 1 May 2012 by the European Central Bank in the Official Journal of the European Union.

For the purposes of the subsequent limits provided for in Article 7(2), Article 9(1), and Article 12(1), the revised values shall be determined by applying the reference exchange rates so published on 1 May of the relevant calendar year. For the maximum charges under Article 7(2), Article 9(1) and Article 12(1), the limits in currencies other than the euro shall be revised annually as from 2015. The annually revised limits in those currencies shall apply from 1 July using the reference exchange rates published on 1 May of the same year.

7. Where maximum charges under Articles 8, 10 and 13 are denominated in currencies other than the euro, the initial limits pursuant to those Articles shall be determined in those currencies by applying the average of the reference exchange rates published on 1 March, 1 April and 1 May 2012 by the European Central Bank in the Official Journal of the European Union.

For the purposes of the subsequent limits provided for in Article 8(2), Article 10(2) and Article 13(2), the revised values shall be determined by applying the average of the reference exchange rates so published on 1 March, 1 April and 1 May of the relevant calendar year. For the maximum charges under Article 8(2), Article 10(2) and Article 13(2), the limits in currencies other than euro shall be revised annually as from 2015. The annually revised limits in those currencies shall apply from 1 July using the average of the reference exchange rates published on 1 March, 1 April and 1 May of the same year.