Telenor removes roaming charges in EU and EEA countries

(Fornebu, 26 April 2016) As of tomorrow, Telenor will be removing roaming charges in EU and EEA countries. This will allow Norwegians abroad to call, send text messages and browse the Internet just like they do at home.

‘Many people are very concerned by the costs of using their mobile while on trips abroad. We’re now launching a concept we think our customers are going to love: Finally, they will be able to call and message as much as they want, as well as using their subscription’s inclusive data allowance in all EU and EEA countries,’ says Bjørn Ivar Moen, Head of Telenor’s Mobile division.

Most Norwegians are eager and advanced mobile users, and Telenor’s customers have been very clear in their desire to use their mobiles abroad just as they do at home.

‘They want to share their travel experiences on social media, use mapping services to find restaurants and hotels, stream music and video - essentially they want to be carefree and enjoy themselves with their mobiles just like they do at home. Today’s news is the breakthrough many have been waiting for,’ says Moen.

From uncertainty to confidence
The scheme includes both private and business customers, and even though Telenor has reduced the cost of using mobiles abroad for everyone in recent years, the company has noticed that many customers continue to be concerned about the costs and feel uncertain about their usage.

‘The uncertainty leads to some people actually switching off data roaming when they are travelling so that they can’t check their email or do anything else online with their mobile. With our new prices, there’s no need to use the off switch. Now that we are removing roaming costs across the EU and EEA, business customers will also be able to use inclusive data allowances, as well as calling and messaging as much as they want - just like when they are at home,’ says the Head of Telenor Business, Ove Fredheim.

He points out that this will be highly significant for customers, as 90 per cent of customers’ mobile web browsing abroad currently takes place in Europe.

Freedom for private customers
The new subscriptions for Telenor’s private customers have been named “Frihet” (Freedom), and will be on sale from 27 April. All of Telenor’s customers will have use in the EU/EEA included by changing to a new subscription free of charge. ‘I want to encourage our customers to change to a new subscription so that they take their summer holidays without a care in the world,’ says Bjørn Ivar Moen.

The new mobile subscriptions from Telenor do not only feature new prices for use abroad - Telenor is also promising other positive changes.

‘People love taking photos and shooting videos, and over 250,000 Norwegians have already begun using the Min Sky cloud storage service. As part of the new subscription, we will be offering unlimited storage of mobile content such as pictures and videos on the Min Sky service. This is in itself a major improvement,’ says Moen, who also highlights included MMS allowances, larger data packs and even faster speeds as the other benefits of the Frihet subscriptions.

‘We are substantially bolstering our subscriptions with this range of developments. However, it isn’t just adults who should enjoy content like this. Telenor is also launching a new mobile subscription range for children and young people, which have been named “Ung” (Young). Naturally, these include the same benefits as the Frihet subscriptions,’ says Moen.

Free for Business customers
Changes will also be taking place for Telenor’s business customers on 27 April, including unlimited mobile storage with Min Sky and an increase in the size of the subscription packages.

‘If you subscribe to the Fri+ with 4GB package or higher, roaming in the EU/EEA is included,’ says Ove Fredheim, who encourages customers to take a look at the contents and familiarise themselves with which subscriptions are covered by the new features.

Moen and Fredheim believe the most pioneering new feature for both private and business customers is that customers travelling in Europe will finally be able to use their subscriptions at no extra charge. ‘This is a paradigmatic shift in the mobile world,’ they say.

(Roaming is when a mobile customer travels abroad and is a guest on the mobile network of other mobile operators in the country that he or she is visiting. The mobile operator that he or she is a customer of pays other operators for permission for being a guest in this way.)

For further information, please contact:
Anders Krokan, communications manager
Phone: 0047 952 09 037, anders.krokan@telenor.com