National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Moldova

On May 31, 2023, the mobile network providers in the Republic of Moldova—Moldcell, Orange Moldova, and Moldtelecom — signed the Declaration on Mutual Reduction of Roaming Rates with major operator groups from the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA)—Orange Group, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefonica Group.

The Declaration represents a step towards better connectivity among people, reducing the financial barriers that limited cross-border communication. Once the declaration is signed, the mobile communication providers from both sides voluntarily committed to offering lower roaming rates to their users when traveling to EU/EEA countries and to the Republic of Moldova.

By October 1, 2023, the signatories of the Declaration will agree on the maximum rates for retail roaming services, including data and voice, which will be lower than the currently applied rates. The new reduced rates will be implemented starting from January 1, 2024. Additionally, citizens of the Republic of Moldova will benefit from lower rates for calls made to fixed and mobile networks in the EU and EEA.

In this regard, under the auspices of the European Commission and with the support of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, national mobile providers and operator groups from the EU that offer services in 12 EU and EEA member states, will coordinate their efforts to enhance the roaming experience by providing services at reduced rates.

The process of negotiation and signing of the Declaration was assisted and facilitated by the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) of the European Commission and the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI). As well, the signing of the Declaration was made possible due to significant efforts made by both national and European operators, who support the aspirations of the authorities and citizens of the Republic of Moldova for integration into the European community.

The Declaration is an initial step towards bringing the Republic of Moldova closer to the EU's single roaming area and became possible as a result of ANRCETI's decisions in April this year, regarding the reduction of termination rates in the Republic of Moldova for calls originated from numbers in EU and EEA countries up to the regulated rates at European level, effective from January 1, 2024. In turn, operators from the European Union will apply eurorates to calls originating from telephone numbers in the Republic of Moldova, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity provided for in the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/654 of December 18, 2020.

The state authorities will continue to make the necessary efforts to effectively include the Republic of Moldova in the EU's digital single market by harmonizing national legislation in the field of electronic communications with the community legislation.