Roaming

The term roaming (English for "wandering", "stray" or "roam") refers to the ability of a mobile network - participant , automatically receive on a different network than its home network calls or to send to make and receive data, or access to to have other cellular network services. The name is synonymous with the use of mobile phones abroad, where the own home network is not available. This works both in the GSM standard, where the term was introduced, and in the UMTS and LTE standard. The operational readiness of the terminal outside its own radio network is through authentication , authorization and billing procedures ( Billing technically supported).

Definition of terms

The term “roaming” (also “macromobility”) must be distinguished from handover and cell change (also known as “micromobility”). These terms describe the change of radio cell during an ongoing call or an ongoing data connection. If the network ( PLMN ) is changed here, one speaks of InterPLMN handover or InterPLMN cell change .

Both functions are used when, for example, sister companies of internationally operating mobile communications companies interconnect their directly neighboring national networks in such a way that the services can be used without interruption across borders.

National roaming

is used when a provider uses the network of another provider in the same country. From a technical point of view - apart from the neighborhood planning of the radio cells - this is the same as roaming between international partners. National roaming is in principle - just like "normal" roaming - possible without handover taking place, which makes sense with regionally limited networks (e.g. in India or the USA). This function was used in German-speaking countries when O ₂ (at that time as Viag Interkom ) used the T-Mobile network in rural areas without their own O ₂ network or when Orange Switzerland used the network in areas where their own network was not available. used the Swisscom network until 2003 . Currently (2015) Eplus and O _{2 are} using national roaming in Germany after the merger under the umbrella of Telefónica Deutschland.

International roaming

(abbreviated as IR ) is used to distinguish it from "national roaming" and describes the establishment of a connection from a mobile network abroad. Mobile radio transmitters of the respective country are usually installed in exclaves so that their residents are neither dependent on the network operators of the surrounding country nor incur roaming charges for visitors from the associated country.

In overseas areas, on the other hand, there are mostly self-sufficient mobile communications companies, and the use of their networks means that roaming charges are incurred for visitors from the “home country” as well.

Outbound roaming

refers to the use of a foreign network (example: use of a foreign mobile network on vacation).

Inbound roaming

refers to the use of one's own network by a foreign subscriber (example: foreign mobile phone subscriber visiting).

Note: Outbound and inbound always depend on the perspective of the respective network operator. A subscriber in network A who is in network B is, from the point of view of his home network A, an outbound roamer . From the point of view of the visited network B, he is an inbound roamer .

Roaming in general

With roaming , a distinction is made between “ SIM- based roaming” and “username / password-based roaming”. Roaming in networks using different network standards, such as B. WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) and GSM , falls under the technical term of roaming. Equipment and functionality of the device, such as B. SIM card capability, antenna and network interfaces and energy management determine the access options.

Using the example of WLAN / GSM roaming, a distinction is made between the following scenarios ( see GSM Association Permanent Reference Document AA.39):

SIM-based roaming : A GSM user moves (in slang: "roams") into a public WLAN that is operated by:
- operated by its own GSM network operator or
- operated by another network operator and has a corresponding roaming agreement with the home network operator.
Username / password-based roaming : A GSM user connects to a public WLAN that is operated by:
- operated by its own GSM network operator or
- operated by another network operator and has a corresponding agreement with the home network operator.

The roaming scenarios mentioned above are intended to be bidirectional, i.e. that is, they include roaming from a GSM network to a WLAN as well as from a WLAN to a GSM network. Traditional roaming in networks of the same standards, e.g. B. from a WLAN to a WLAN or GSM network to a GSM network has already been described above and is also defined by the strangeness of the network, based on the type of subscriber entry in the home user directory.

With regard to the possible scenarios for the authorization of a subscriber, the mobile radio providers often strive to ensure that the subscriber has access to the same services regardless of the type of access, network standard or network. However, other scenarios with a differentiation of the approved services according to networks or network standards also exist, e.g. B. with prepaid procedures. The access scenarios can include a wide range of services, in particular:

Access to common intranet services ;
Access to specific services of the service provider (so-called operator walled garden services ) and
Access to the public internet .

The uninterrupted (seamless) Access (English seamless access ) to these services independent of the access type and the network standard of the goals in the merging of different network standards. This is also referred to as session continuity (English for "permanent session " or "permanent / permanent connection").

Home and foreign networks

The “strangeness” of the network (“visited network”) is defined by the type of participant entry in the network. If a participant does not have an entry in the home user directory of the network (e.g. HLR (Home Location Register) in GSM networks or local customer database in WLANs), the participant's necessary data must e.g. B. can only be requested from the visited network on the subscriber's home network so that the subscriber can be authenticated and any authorization to use the network services can be checked. The "foreign" participant receives an entry in a user database of the visited network (e.g. Visitor Location Register , VLR) and the authorized network services are released. For the specific process of roaming, the possibility of assigning the subscriber data is indispensable in any case, so that the subscriber can be authenticated , authorized and billed in the corresponding network . The term roaming is therefore not tied to a specific network standard, but to the type of subscriber entry in the home user directory of the cellular network. If a participant in the foreign network can use his personal service profile, which he also uses in the home network, one speaks of so-called global service roaming capability .

Roaming Agreements

The legal roaming terms and conditions that are negotiated between the roaming partners for the settlement of the services purchased are usually set out in so-called roaming agreements. The GSM Association provides its members with the content of such roaming agreements in a standardized way. Roaming agreements can typically also include agreed minimum security standard procedures for the legal implementation of the authentication , authorization and billing of the non-network participants, such as B. Location update procedures or financial security and guarantee procedures.

realization

From the point of view of the networks involved, roaming is a technical switching performance feature . The main functionality is the access of the mobile radio switching systems of the visited network to a home network user database, such as e.g. B. a subscriber register (HLR) of the customer's home network. This checks whether the subscriber in question is not blocked and has the necessary authorization to use the services (in general or for roaming in particular).

With prepaid cards , depending on the card, roaming may either not be possible (i.e. the card does not work at all abroad) or to a limited extent (e.g. incoming calls are forwarded to the foreign network and SMS can be sent and received as usual) or be possible without restriction, or outgoing calls are only possible in the call-back procedure, in which the user requests a callback via his home network operator using a USSD code and this establishes the connection to the desired conversation partner. Since this process was implemented, the number of countries in which users of prepaid cards can actively make phone calls has multiplied.

The transfer of roaming data is carried out by so-called clearing houses, whose task is the worldwide transmission of the telephony data of the various network providers. In addition to the pure transmission of this data, services such as data consistency checks, tariff checks and invoice processing are also taken over by the clearing houses. There are only a few network providers around the world who still take on these tasks themselves.

Roaming charges in the EU and EEA

Countries in which the Roaming Regulation is used: European Union ,

the EFTA member states (excluding Switzerland),

Iceland

Liechtenstein

Norway

EU member states

Belgium Bulgaria Denmark Germany Estonia Finland France Greece Ireland

Italy Croatia ¹Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Austria Poland Portugal

Romania Sweden Slovakia Slovenia Spain Czech Republic Hungary Cyprus

States that have left the European Union under Article 50

United Kingdom

The roaming charges of European mobile network providers had repeatedly been criticized as being too high. a. by Viviane Reding , EU Commissioner responsible for telecommunications at the time . In March 2007, the Commission finally decided on a ceiling for roaming charges in the EU / EEA area ; on June 7, 2007, the EU Council of Ministers approved the regulation.

In the first step, the charges for outgoing calls in other EU countries were set at a maximum of 49 cents per minute and for incoming calls at a maximum of 24 cents per minute, plus the respective VAT .
As of August 30, 2008, the lower price limit of 46 cents for outgoing and 22 cents for incoming calls applied, plus the respective VAT.
On July 1, 2011, the price caps came into effect again - 35 cents for active and 11 cents for passive calls plus VAT; In addition, an upper limit for SMS of 11 cents plus VAT was introduced.
In addition, since July 1, 2009, mobile network operators have had to bill to the second for passive roaming calls. A minimum billing period of 30 seconds is permitted for active calls. Active calls that last longer than 30 seconds must therefore always be billed to the second.
The price caps were subsequently further reduced on July 1st each year until 2014. Since July 1, 2014, active calls have cost a maximum of 19 ct / min, passive 5 ct / min, SMS 6 ct, and data transfer a maximum of 20 ct / MB (all prices plus VAT). For most German customers, sending an SMS to Germany abroad was cheaper than at home, where 9-cent standard tariffs (including VAT) are common. The difference was even greater when sending an SMS to foreign recipients.

In April 2014, the European Parliament finally voted in favor of banning all roaming charges across the EU by December 15, 2015. The Council, led by the Latvian Presidency, on the other hand, took the position of keeping roaming charges at a low level for the time being. Suspicions of Latvian self-interest have been voiced, as Latvian mobile phone companies make particularly high profits from roaming.

Since July 1, 2010, the EU-wide rule has been to limit the cost of using mobile Internet in other EU countries to a maximum of EUR 800 per GB (plus VAT). Since local data access is already available for one euro per GB, there are not only warnings to citizens but also the law stipulating that a user must be notified if he or she is 80% above the cost limit of 50 euros (plus VAT) per month come up. Unless the user requests otherwise, the Internet connection will be interrupted after the cost limit has been reached. The block can be lifted either via the customer hotline, online, via SMS or via special USSD key codes, depending on the provider.

Since December 2012, the EU roaming rules also apply in the EEA ( Liechtenstein , Norway and Iceland ).

Current situation

Since June 15, 2017, network operators from the EU or the EEA are no longer allowed to charge their customers for mobile phone use in the EU / EEA area (principle of “roam like at home”) as long as fair use Limit (see below) is not exceeded. Neither for active and passive calls nor for sending and receiving SMS nor for data transfer (e-mail, surfing the Internet) in other EU / EEA countries, additional fees may be charged. Basically, the customer only has to pay as much for mobile phone use when roaming as he would have to pay for the same use in his home country; If the customer's tariff plan contains a contingent of inclusive minutes, SMS or data transfer, calls, SMS and data transfer when roaming are counted towards this contingent. Since the upper limit for the total price per unit fell with the roaming charges, the price per SMS rose for most German customers without an inclusive contingent.

When roaming, the entire EU / EEA area is considered domestic and is billed at the domestic tariffs of the home network operator. So if you buy a (limited or unlimited) minute quota for domestic calls in your home network tariff with the basic price, you can use your minute quota from the entire EU / EEA roaming zone to the entire EU / EEA roaming zone at no additional cost make calls, i.e. make national calls in the country of residence and international calls to other EU / EEA roaming countries at no additional cost.

It should be noted that international calls from the home network, so-called international connections, are not roaming, which is why these calls are not covered by this EU regulation. For international calls from the home network, the network operators may continue to charge freely agreed rates. This means that, for example, a customer of a German network operator has to pay the usual international tariff for an international call to Austria made in Germany, while a call from Austria (i.e. in a roaming situation) to Germany is treated like a German domestic call for the same subscriber must and must not cost anything as long as a domestic minute quota is still available. National calls in Austria and international calls from Austria to other countries in the EU / EEA roaming zone may not cost a German subscriber more than German domestic calls. As a result, you usually pay significantly less for EU / EEA internal international calls (and SMS) while you are abroad. The use of Wi-Fi calling is an exception . Calling a foreign number from abroad still incurs additional costs, as the call is billed by the mobile operator as an international call, i.e. an international connection.

Fair use rule

At the instigation of the mobile communications provider, the subscriber may continue to be charged roaming surcharges for calls, SMS and data consumption as soon as a fair use limit for the use of the mobile device abroad is exceeded. This provision is intended to prevent the permanent use of a cheaper foreign tariff in the country of residence.

In a first draft for this, the EU Commission set a limit for the surcharge-free use of mobile phone connections abroad of 90 days per year at the beginning of September 2016. After massive criticism from consumer advocates and all political groups in the European Parliament, the proposal was withdrawn after four days and a revised proposal was announced.

The new fair use regulation was presented on February 1, 2017 and took effect on June 15, 2017 when the new roaming regulations came into force. According to this, the service providers may still charge roaming surcharges should the subscriber exceed the fair use limit they have defined; However, the additional fees must not be higher than the upper limits set by the EU for the wholesale level, i.e. the prices that the network operators charge each other (3.2 ct / min; 1 ct / SMS; per GB 7.70 € ( from June 15, 2017), € 6 (January 1, 2018), € 4.50 (January 1, 2019), € 3.50 (January 1, 2020), € 3 (January 1, 2021) and 2.50 € (January 1, 2022); each plus VAT).

Additional information on the scope

The EU roaming regulation applies:

in Spain including the Canary Islands
in Portugal including Madeira and the Azores
in France : including the overseas territories that are (at least an associated) part of the EU ( French Guiana , Guadeloupe , Martinique , Mayotte , Réunion , Saint-Martin , Saint-Barthélemy )

The EU roaming regulation does not apply:

in Switzerland
in San Marino
in Vatican City
in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
on Sint Maarten , the Dutch part of the island of St. Martin
in Monaco (except when using a French cellular network)
in Andorra (except when using a Spanish or French cellular network)
on the Faroe Islands , which belong to Denmark but are not part of the EU
on ships and in airplanes. The regulation only covers land-based cellular connections. On ships and in aircraft that provide their passengers with a satellite-based mobile phone connection on board, the regulation does not apply even if the means of transport are registered in an EU / EEA country, are in EU / EEA waters or in EU / EEA airspace and the starting and ending points of the journey or flight are in the EU / EEA.

Maximum end customer charges (net in euros) according to EU roaming regulation
Year from July / Aug.	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	from April 30, 2016	from June 15, 2017
Price caps for calls (voice roaming)
active, for outgoing calls (per minute)	0.49	0.46	0.43	0.39	0.35	0.29	0.24	0.19	Domestic price plus 0.05 / max. 0.19	Domestic price
passive, for incoming calls (per min.)	0.24	0.22	0.19	0.15	0.11	0.08	0.07	0.05	0.0114	free of charge
Price cap for the SMS short message service
Sending an SMS	-	-	0.11	0.11	0.11	0.09	0.08	0.06	Domestic price plus 0.02 / max. 0.06	Domestic price
Upper price limit for mobile internet (data roaming)
1 megabyte (MB) of data	-	-	-	-	-	0.70	0.45	0.20	Domestic price plus 0.05 / max. 0.20	Domestic price

Legal basis:

June 2007 to June 2012: Regulation (EC) No. 717/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 29, 2007
since July 1, 2012: Regulation (EC) No. 531/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 13, 2012

Ghost roaming

LTE devices and networks sometimes also exchange data if the user has deactivated roaming. Only small amounts of data are exchanged, but if LTE networks outside the EU, such as Switzerland, are often approached, the overall costs can be significant. When the additional costs charged by this "ghost roaming" are challenged, network operators in Austria react very differently, reported consumer advocates in August 2018.

Web links

Wiktionary: Roaming - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

European Commission: Roaming
EU: "Digital Agenda: Commission proposal for more competition, more choice and lower prices for mobile phone users abroad" (6 July 2011)
Regulation (EU) No. 531/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 13, 2012 on roaming in public mobile networks in the Union , accessed on June 16, 2017
Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 , accessed on 16 June 2017

Individual evidence

^ GSM Association Permanent Reference Document AA. 39.

↑ Orange relies entirely on its own network ( Memento of the original from July 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , orange.ch, accessed on June 8, 2014. @1@ 2

↑ Regulation (EC) No. 544/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council , accessed on January 8, 2017

↑ Marc Kessler: Data Roaming: New EU Roaming Regulation offers loophole. In: teltarif.de. August 2, 2012, accessed January 8, 2017 .

^ European Commission - Digital Agenda for Europe

↑ tagesschau.de, April 3, 2014

↑ reuters.com, February 24, 2014

↑ Press release: Tariffs for mobile phone calls in other EU countries reduced again on July 1, 2010. (PDF) Federal Network Agency, June 30, 2010.

↑ relevant.at: Rübig sees tariff "shock wave" for data roaming ( Memento from January 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

↑ Roaming within the EU: All information at a glance. In: allnetflats-in-deutschland.de. December 15, 2015, accessed January 8, 2017 .

↑ efta.int (PDF)

↑ Roaming in the EU. Official website of the European Union, accessed June 16, 2017 .

↑ EU: Roaming charges in Europe are history from June 15th . In: The time . February 1, 2017, ISSN 0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed April 27, 2017]).

↑ Federal Network Agency - FAQ on RLAH. Retrieved January 9, 2018 .

↑ Florian Krockert: Warning: There is a cost trap with WiFi calling in roaming. In: teltarif.de. Retrieved January 8, 2017 .

↑ The back and forth of the EU when roaming. In: tagesschau.de. September 9, 2016, accessed January 8, 2017 .

↑ Christian Lanzerath: Roaming is no longer applicable in the EU: Check the fair use policy and mobile phone contracts. In: Welt Online . June 7, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017 .