EU Member States Agree to Extend Free Mobile Roaming Policy Until 2032

[MacRumors]

So-called mobile phone "roaming" will remain free within the European Union for another decade, the European Commission has confirmed.

The governing body said that a political agreement had been reached between the member states and the European Parliament to extend the practice until 2032.

In a press release announcing the agreement to extend the free roaming policy, the European Commission said:

Citizens will be able to call, text and use mobile data while travelling within the EU at no extra costs and with the same quality they experience at home; they will have improved access to emergency communications regardless of where they are in Europe; and, they will have the right to clear information when a service they use while roaming might cause inadvertent extra charges. The regulation will enter into force on July 1st 2022.

Prior to 2017, when roaming charges were abolished in the EU, holidaymakers and business travelers across Europe would often be stung by excessive phone bills when they got home, with network operators charging exorbitant fees for calls, text, and data used abroad.

Years of campaigning saw the practice scrapped in the EU, meaning mobile customers generally no longer have to worry about roaming charges when using their phone in the EU, with most phone tariffs counting calls, texts, and data used in EU countries as equivalent to domestic use.

Commenting on the latest agreement to extend the practice, commissioner for the internal market Thierry Breton said: "Spending holidays in Greece, Austria or Bulgaria, visiting customers or suppliers in Italy or Estonia… traveling abroad without having to worry about phone bills is a tangible part of the EU Single Market experience for all Europeans."

Given that the United Kingdom has formally exited the European Union, UK residents won't be able to enjoy the benefits of free roaming when they use their phones abroad.

Indeed, when the EU trade deal was signed in December 2020, mobile operators were once again able to charge customers when traveling in Europe with "transparent and reasonable rates."

Originally, EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone, representing the largest mobile operators in the UK, stated they had no plans to reintroduce roaming charges after Brexit, but all have since announced changes, some under a "fair use" clause.

Article Link: EU Member States Agree to Extend Free Mobile Roaming Policy Until 2032

 

[Havalo]

Shocker! No one in the UK saw this coming.

 

[KrisLord]

Jealous of all our EU friends getting free roaming #UK

 

[LV426]

Brexit. The gift that just keeps giving.

 

[Merkie]

Slightly offtopic but not entirely; iPhone eSIM support is really amazing for dealing with roaming charges. You can very easily buy a local eSIM that you can use on your iPhone within minutes. I used Airalo for this, but I suppose there are multiple apps that offer similar services. This means you are not tied to the usually very high roaming tarrifs by your carrier.

Obviously within the EU this isn't an issue, but it might be if you're travelling to/from somewhere not in the EU. Example: I travelled from an EU country to the US two weeks ago, and I bought a 5GB eSIM for $15 for the week while I was there. Worked great.

 

[AppliedMicro]

I’ve also had a good experience with a local eSIM that I quickly loaded on my phone.

Brexit. The gift that just keeps giving.

A SIM doesn‘t cost more than a few quid for the holidays or business travel.
EU membership may arguably cost more for most people.

 

[SkimPappa]

Used local SIM cards while in the navy. Saved a bunch of money.

 

[shanson27]

In 2031 the EU will no longer exist ?

 

[rikscha]

I’ve also had a good experience with a local eSIM that I quickly loaded on my phone.

A SIM doesn‘t cost more than a few quid for the holidays or business travel.
EU membership may arguably cost more for most people.

How did the membership cost anyone more - please enlighten us while we have reached divorce costs of
£80bn so far and counting and projected loss of economic growth of 5-10% over the next decade.

Back to sim card hunting great! So convenient…

 

[Quu]

Indeed, when the EU trade deal was signed in December 2020, mobile operators were once again able to charge customers when traveling in Europe with "transparent and reasonable rates."

Originally, EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone, representing the largest mobile operators in the UK, stated they had no plans to reintroduce roaming charges after Brexit, but all have since announced changes, some under a "fair use" clause.

For some perspective of how this was portrayed in the UK.

During the transition period (after the vote already happened to leave) when we (the UK) were negotiating our exit from the EU some said we wouldn't lose this roaming benefit.

And of course we have done so. And you can pretty much put on probably 100 other things people said we wouldn't lose, the beneficial aspects of being a EU member that we have lost. I'm yet to see any benefits to leaving to be honest with you.

 

[LV426]

I’ve also had a good experience with a local eSIM that I quickly loaded on my phone.

A SIM doesn‘t cost more than a few quid for the holidays or business travel.
EU membership may arguably cost more for most people.

That argument was lost a long long time ago. I don't want to get into this here, because it is entirely political, but even the rightwing press are no longer ignoring the massive downside it's had on the UK economy.

 

[AlixSPQR]

”No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Brexiteers should have listened to John Donne.

 

[Mercifull]

Brexit. The gift that just keeps giving.

The grift that keeps on taking.

 

[sflagel]

In 2031 the EU will no longer exist ?

Probably true. Thank you UK for destroying it. Pat yourselves on the back.

 

[sflagel]

For some perspective of how this was portrayed in the UK.

During the transition period (after the vote already happened to leave) when we (the UK) were negotiating our exit from the EU some said we wouldn't lose this roaming benefit.

And of course we have done so. And you can pretty much put on probably 100 other things people said we wouldn't lose, the beneficial aspects of being a EU member that we have lost. I'm yet to see any benefits to leaving to be honest with you.

Apparently, the £350 Million a week savings was not enough to give NHS staff a rise after they worked through the biggest pandemic since 100 years ago.(where *is* that money going?)

 

[TGM85]

Probably true. Thank you UK for destroying it. Pat yourselves on the back.

Nah, not true at all.

I don’t see the EU imploding in the next decade.

Brexit is a done thing, the reaction in most EU countries to it is pretty much this by now: ?‍♂️?‍♀️

 

[Chozes]

In the UK we had all these mobile operators advertising Brexit wasn't going to change a thing...

Bunch of liars.

 

[StevieD100]

Brexit. The gift that just keeps giving.

BREXIT: The gift that just keeps emptying your wallet.

 

[chenks]

Apparently, the £350 Million a week savings was not enough to give NHS staff a rise after they worked through the biggest pandemic since 100 years ago.(where *is* that money going?)

of course, that figure that was painted on the side of a bus was totally made up.

 

[StevieD100]

Apparently, the £350 Million a week savings was not enough to give NHS staff a rise after they worked through the biggest pandemic since 100 years ago.(where *is* that money going?)

Please go and ask 'dear' Nigel 'Mines a pint' Farage where that £350Million came from. Like all the other Fake News that surrounded the BREXIT debacle, we will be paying a lot more than any money we paid into the EU for decades.

 

[chenks]

Nah, not true at all.

I don’t see the EU imploding in the next decade.

Brexit is a done thing, the reaction in most EU countries to it is pretty much this by now: ?‍♂️?‍♀️

what it has done is show all the other EU members what would happen should any other think about leaving.
seeing the disaster that ensued would be enough to make them think again.

France were suggesting they might think about it not too long ago though, but, you know, the French!

 

[chenks]

Nigel 'Mines a pint' Farage

Nigel, who loves everything British and dislikes Europe, but who married an Irish and then German nationals.
Nigel, who's childern hold both German and British passports and speak "perfect" German.
and who's lineage is German on one side of his family.

the man is a parody of himself, and rather ironically the only place that would give him a seat at in government was the EU, the UK wouldn't touch him with a barge pole

 

[canyelles]

Please go and ask 'dear' Nigel 'Mines a pint' Farage where that £350Million came from. Like all the other Fake News that surrounded the BREXIT debacle, we will be paying a lot more than any money we paid into the EU for decades.

I hate NF with a vengeance but the £350m was nothing to do with him.

There were 2 groups advocating Brexit - The Boris group with Dominic Cummings and NF and they didn't want to have anything to do with each other.

The £350m was all Dominic Cummings work.

 

[ThatsME.mr]

France were suggesting they might think about it not too long ago though, but, you know, the French!

France is a country. A country can not think! So, who are you talking about? (You are definitely not talking about the French government.)
"But, you know, the French" - no, I don't know. Who is "the French"? What are you suggesting?

But since all Americans are Trump supporters I will probably not get an answer.

----

PS: Somewhere in the last sentence is hidden a small, little, tiny bit of sarcasm ... Who finds it can keep it.

 

[Lihp8270]

Apparently, the £350 Million a week savings was not enough to give NHS staff a rise after they worked through the biggest pandemic since 100 years ago.(where *is* that money going?)

1. We never gave £350 million per week to the EU after rebates and income from other schemes.

2. £350 million per week sounds a lot but is a negligible drop in the ocean compared to the actual NHS funding (over 2.5 Billion per week) and would have no measurable impact.