EU to lift roaming fees for Albania from next year, what is expected to change

On Monday, October 13, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the abolition of roaming fees for mobile communications between Albania and the European Union next year.

Such a decision would mean the possibility for mobile service subscribers in Albania to use their numbers in European Union countries at the same rates as in Albania.

Currently, roaming fees between Albania and the European Union are not legally regulated, but since 2023, with the mediation of the European Commission, 38 mobile service operators from the EU and the Western Balkans region reached an agreement to reduce internet roaming fees.

Of the two Albanian mobile operators, only One Albania became part of the agreement, but Vodafone Albania also offers similar preferential tariffs for using the services of other Vodafone group companies in the EU.

Specifically, the operators that became part of the agreement agreed to set a maximum retail price level of 18 euros/GB (gigabyte) starting from October 1, 2023; 14 euros/GB starting from 2026 and 9 euros/GB starting from 2028.

The agreement has enabled mobile phone users from Albania to enjoy lower prices for internet use while they are in European Union countries, and, conversely, foreign tourists to use the internet at cheaper prices in Albania.

Currently, the basic roaming internet tariff in Zone 1 (which includes most operators from EU countries) is 2.4 Lekë/MB (from 40-60 Lekë per MB before the agreement came into force).

Mobile phone users of both Albanian mobile companies will, however, have access to even lower roaming communication packages, at a fixed price. The agreement, however, foresees a further reduction in the price of internet to 14 euros/GB starting in 2026.

However, if the promise made by von der Leyen is fulfilled, fees for all roaming services (including calls) should be abolished and Albanians will communicate under the terms of their national tariff plan, even when traveling to EU countries.

The agreement to reduce roaming internet fees with EU countries followed the agreement reached to completely abolish roaming fees between Western Balkan countries. From the end of June 2021, mobile phone users in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will communicate while traveling to other countries in the region at no additional cost and with the same tariffs as the respective national plan.

According to data from the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP), around 857 thousand Albanians used roaming services in the Western Balkans in 2024, with an increase of 5% compared to the previous year.

The volume of internet used in roaming has exceeded 1.2 million GB (gigabytes) of internet, with an increase of 38% compared to 2023.

So far, AKEP does not provide specific statistics regarding the use of roaming services by Albanians in European Union countries.

INSTAT data showed that last year Albanians recorded approximately 7.9 million exits from the country's territory last year, with an increase of 14% compared to the previous year./Monitor