Telecoms giant Telefónica has responded to the EU’s new roaming legislation by introducing a standard roaming mobile tariff it says is “considerably cheaper than the EU’s regulated rate.”
The new pan‑European plan offers customers 25 MB of data—equivalent to roughly 250 visits to basic websites—usable across all 27 EU member states for €2 per day (or £1.99 for UK users). Telefónica will notify subscribers immediately if they exceed the 25 MB allowance.
The European Parliament recently set a regulated cap that takes effect on July 1, limiting data roaming charges to 70 cents per megabyte and imposing price caps on making and receiving calls and texts while abroad.
José María Álvarez‑Pallete, chairman and CEO of Telefónica Europe, said: “Our European data tariff gives our smartphone customers great value while allowing them to do what really matters—stay connected wherever they are in a simple and transparent way and with complete peace of mind.”
Telefónica has not provided an exact rollout date, saying only that the tariff will be extended across the rest of Europe “this summer.” The offer has been available in Germany since May.
It has been a mixed period for the company. Telefónica recently launched a VoIP‑based messaging and calling app, TU Me, even as its European operations reported weaker first‑quarter results.
Although Telefónica described overall results as “solid,” first‑quarter figures fell short of analyst expectations, with the company’s Latin American operations supporting overall profitability.
Telefónica’s European division recorded a 15% decline in operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA), down to €2.51 billion. By contrast, Latin America delivered slightly improved results, with OIBDA rising 0.8% to €2.55 billion.
Andrés Bolumburu, an analyst at Banco de Sabadell, told Bloomberg: “The performance in Europe was very poor this quarter… while Spain continues its decline and Latin America provides positive growth overall.”
Domestic pressures help explain the weakness in Europe: Spain has returned to recession, and Telefónica has lost customers to lower‑cost competitors such as Jazztel and Yoigo, the Spanish operator owned by TeliaSonera. In its financial report, Telefónica acknowledged that its European business “continued to face economic headwinds.”