Roaming Cheaper in Western Balkan Countries from Today, Except in BiH and Montenegro

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Roaming prices in Western Balkan countries will be reduced from nine to 35 percent from today, in line with the second phase of the implementation of the regional roaming agreement, CdM was told by State Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Serbia Tatjana Matić, adding that prices will remain the same in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

matić reminded that the implementation of the Agreement on reducing roaming prices in the region, signed in April, began on July 1, 2019, and that from January 1, 2020, the second phase begins, which provides for new lower costs.

Montenegro and BiH decided in December 2019 not to reduce roaming prices from January 1, but to keep the prices introduced on July 1.

“It cannot be said that they are violating the agreement because they have implemented the first phase. However, these two countries requested additional time to align with their mobile operators and regulatory agencies in order to implement the second phase,” said Matić.

Based on the regional agreement, from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021, a gradual reduction of roaming prices is planned in several phases.

From January 1, 2020, the method of calculating roaming costs changes so that all users will pay roaming based on the principle that includes the sum of the domestic price (which they currently pay in domestic traffic) and the roaming fee.

From July 1 next year, an additional reduction in roaming prices for incoming calls and data transmission is planned for all users.

It is planned that from July 1, 2021, roaming fees in the Western Balkan region will be completely abolished, meaning that users will pay for roaming services under the same conditions applied in domestic traffic.

The regional roaming agreement was signed in April this year, at the second Western Balkans Digital Summit in Belgrade, by representatives of the Western Balkan six (Serbia, Montenegro, BiH, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo).