Roaming near the border High cell phone costs due to Swiss network - now German politicians want to crack down
Even without crossing the border, the Swiss mobile network is becoming a cost trap for some cell phone users in Germany. German politicians are now calling for a solution to the roaming problem.
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- Anyone using their cell phone at the German border with Switzerland runs the risk of falling into a cost trap due to roaming.
- Even without crossing the border, the automatic use of the Swiss mobile network can lead to high cell phone bills.
- German politicians in Baden-Württemberg now want to tackle the problem and are calling for a solution.
Actually, you have just used your smartphone as usual, but then you get a horrendous bill: it is not uncommon for cell phone users in Germany near the Swiss border to fall into a cost trap. Because even if you don't cross the border at all, you are at risk of roaming due to the automatic use of the Swiss mobile network.
Modern smartphones automatically dial into the strongest available network. For anyone who has not activated manual network selection, this can mean that a device in border regions is suddenly running on a Swiss mobile network provider. Because Switzerland is not part of the EU roaming regulation, there is a risk of high charges - especially when surfing, streaming or using social networks.
German politicians call for a solution to the problem
So if you are in southern Baden or on Lake Constance, for example, you may find yourself in the Swiss mobile network sooner than you would like. In the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, the consumer advice center has been warning for some time that even just "a stay in the border region can become an expensive cost trap for mobile phone customers". Reports of high bills have been appearing regularly for years. In the German media, there is talk of the "Swiss cost trap".
A problem that is now even of interest to German politicians
FDP members of the Baden-Württemberg state parliament have submitted a motion calling on the state government to carry out a detailed assessment of the situation, as reported by "Blick". The central question is "how big the state government considers the problem to be that cell phones near the border are automatically connected to the mobile networks on the Swiss side, which can result in unforeseen costs for consumers".
EU roaming for Switzerland?
Southern Germany in particular has long been keen to integrate Switzerland into the EU roaming system. Baden-Württemberg has around eleven million inhabitants and has close economic ties with Switzerland. Many people commute across the border every day or regularly spend time in the region.
The state's so-called Switzerland strategy states that "improvements in cross-border mobile communications are important for citizens". However, it is increasingly unclear how realistic this plan is.
This is because Bern is currently reluctant to join. The Federal Council recently recommended rejecting a parliamentary motion to join the EU "Roam Like at Home" agreement. Such talks are currently "not opportune".
It is precisely this rejectionist stance that the German politicians' motion takes up. The FDP wants to know whether and how the country intends to continue to campaign for an agreement - "in view of the Swiss Federal Council's recent negative stance".
