European Union Citizens Won't Face Mobile Roaming Fees Until At Least 2032

[bgalakazam]

Citizens of European Union countries can keep avoiding mobile roaming fees when using their devices across borders within the bloc, after lawmakers extended the regulation to last until at least 2032.

Mobile customers generally haven't had to worry about roaming charges when using their phones in the EU, with most phone tariffs counting calls, texts, and data used in EU countries as equivalent to domestic use since 2017.

The regulation was due to end on July 1, so the EU has extended it for a decade. That means European consumers can keep avoiding most extra fees when traveling within another of the 27 EU Member States, but there are also some new additions to the regulation, including a requirement that citizens have access to the same services abroad in the EU as at home when the same networks and technologies are available.

As TechCrunch notes, while this quality of service provision covers 5G, it doesn't guarantee the same mobile network speed when roaming (network speeds can vary), but the Commission says the new rules "aim to ensure that when similar quality or speeds are available in the visited network, the domestic operator should ensure the same quality of the roaming service."

In addition, the updated regulation aims to increase transparency by requiring network providers to better inform customers about the types of services that can still incur additional costs when roaming, such as calling customer service numbers, help desks, and insurance companies. Customers should receive an SMS text regarding any additional roaming charges.

In case it isn't already clear by now, this regulation won't apply to mobile customers based in the United Kingdom, as a result of the country's exit from the European Union. With the exception of Virgin Media O2, most networks in the U.K. have since reintroduced roaming charges when traveling in the EU, and most charges are around £2 per day.

Article Link: European Union Citizens Won't Face Mobile Roaming Fees Until At Least 2032

Stop spreading lies. I currently live in Germany, and lived in Italy for 3 years prior. Plans to don't transfer over 1 to 1 when going to another EU country. Often times there are extra charges for calls when not within the country of origin.

If you speak German or Italian, look up the Vodafone and TIM plan legalese fine print. Also, you NEED calls in Europe. They are too backwards and pretty much any hotel, restaurant, etc, you need phone line to communicate with.

 

[mikecwest]

This has to be a joke, right?

I can't confirm that. Within the EU the speed is always as fast as the signal allows. Just recently tested that in Italy and Austria and also in the past years in the Netherlands, France, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Estland, Lithuania, Latvia and also in the UK it worked fine before they left.

I think Apple should switch to USB-C, but I don't think the EU should make that decision for them.

 

[Juuro]

I think Apple should switch to USB-C, but I don't think the EU should make that decision for them.

I even don't think Apple should necessarily switch to USB-C. My preferred "solution" would have been an updated faster Lightning. Lightning is still the mechanically best plug on earth.
I also wonder how we get to the successor of USB-C in a couple of years. 😬

But in case of roaming I don't think there are any disadvantages, especially for consumers.

 

[Wando64]

Yea, cos it was all about mobile phone charges /s

No, but thanks goodness everything else is going swimmingly.

 

[Psychicbob]

No brainwashing intended Bob. I was just trying to help you onto a road, free of paranoia about 'the elites' , and free of a need to hate everything Paul Dacre tells you hate. Kindly meant. Be well.

I don’t mind a debate. It’s an emotive subject though so strong opinions on both sides. I definitely do not drink the right wing coolaid. I think both sides are cheeks of the same arze! For what it’s worth, my ire is caused by my belief that the only entities benefitting from the bureaucracy are Germany and France. I just can’t imagine fighting for independence, only to give it all away again to the EU. I think Scots have a serious question to ask themselves, as well as Ireland. It’s incredibly difficult for them (you) with the politics of NI involved. I would not want to be the one trying to sort that out, shy of making NI a completely independent country, beholden to no one.

Anyway, enjoy the weekend 🍺 Fwiw, I didn’t start the Brexit debate although I should not have taken the bait 😁

 

[TestedLion]

I don’t mind a debate. It’s an emotive subject though so strong opinions on both sides. I definitely do not drink the right wing coolaid. I think both sides are cheeks of the same arze! For what it’s worth, my ire is caused by my belief that the only entities benefitting from the bureaucracy are Germany and France. I just can’t imagine fighting for independence, only to give it all away again to the EU. I think Scots have a serious question to ask themselves, as well as Ireland. It’s incredibly difficult for them (you) with the politics of NI involved. I would not want to be the one trying to sort that out, shy of making NI a completely independent country, beholden to no one.

Anyway, enjoy the weekend 🍺 Fwiw, I didn’t start the Brexit debate although I should not have taken the bait 😁

Great post!

 

[Juuro]

For what it’s worth, my ire is caused by my belief that the only entities benefitting from the bureaucracy are Germany and France.

Our (Germanys) right wing people always tell us that we (the most hard working people on the planet) have to pay for all the other EU states which are living off us because they are so lazy and/or stupid. 😄 None of that is true, of course. Germany is a big profiteer of the EU and despite me also not being in favour of every new idea the EU has I think in general it is a great idea to get together as a continent which was always at war with each other in different constellations almost by tradition. So I think this is also a big benefit for every other member state. Not only as a peace keeping mission, because people don't fight with weapons anymore but with words over the lengths of cucumbers, but also because it is more attractive for external companies to do business in EU. And as an EU citizen I can't imagine how we could have borders in the past here. It is so comfortable to work, live, travel in the whole EU wherever I want for how long I want and even pay with the same money in most of the countries.

 

[Jammers]

Our (Germanys) right wing people always tell us that we (the most hard working people on the planet) have to pay for all the other EU states which are living off us because they are so lazy and/or stupid. 😄 None of that is true, of course. Germany is a big profiteer of the EU and despite me also not being in favour of every new idea the EU has I think in general it is a great idea to get together as a continent which was always at war with each other in different constellations almost by tradition. So I think this is also a big benefit for every other member state. Not only as a peace keeping mission, because people don't fight with weapons anymore but with words over the lengths of cucumbers, but also because it is more attractive for external companies to do business in EU. And as an EU citizen I can't imagine how we could have borders in the past here. It is so comfortable to work, live, travel in the whole EU wherever I want for how long I want and even pay with the same money in most of the countries.

As a UK citizen I am so jealous of you atm - can't believe the thickos who voted us out

 

[Psychicbob]

Our (Germanys) right wing people always tell us that we (the most hard working people on the planet) have to pay for all the other EU states which are living off us because they are so lazy and/or stupid. 😄 None of that is true, of course. Germany is a big profiteer of the EU and despite me also not being in favour of every new idea the EU has I think in general it is a great idea to get together as a continent which was always at war with each other in different constellations almost by tradition. So I think this is also a big benefit for every other member state. Not only as a peace keeping mission, because people don't fight with weapons anymore but with words over the lengths of cucumbers, but also because it is more attractive for external companies to do business in EU. And as an EU citizen I can't imagine how we could have borders in the past here. It is so comfortable to work, live, travel in the whole EU wherever I want for how long I want and even pay with the same money in most of the countries.

I agree. However, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts, absolutely. Humans can’t resist grasping it like Sauron’s ring. It starts out as a good idea but then gets waylaid by ulterior motives and greed. There are no exceptions. Humans are incapable of maintaining an uncorrupted existence.

 

[arian71]

Yea, cos it was all about mobile phone charges /s

well it is costly if you going abroad, maybe you thinking no brits holidaying abroad

 

[dblissmn]

The EU tends to be good at protecting consumer rights (better than here in the States) so I'm not surprised but I'm happy to see.

Also pardon my ignorance, but why is it that regulations there expire after a certain amount of time and have be renewed?

Sunset clauses (i.e. ending a regulation after a certain period of years unless it's renewed) are actually pretty good practice -- the fact we often regulate without sunset clauses is one reason conservatives are pushing harder than ever against regulations, period. The trouble is, that's sort of a "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" kind of approach.

Good example from the past is railroad rate regulation. Much needed when passed in 1906, it was obsolete arguably within 20 years due to widespread motor vehicle sales, certainly within 25, but it didn't finally get taken off until 1980, by which time it had almost bankrupted the entire industry. Since then the main challenge to a now very profitable industry has been coping with how many lines were run down and abandoned at the tail end of regulation in from the 1960s to the mid 1980s; the tailbacks at ports and major rail junctions are evidence of this.

Another good example is the wartime railroad ticket tax introduced in 1942; instead of sunsetting at the end of the war, it stayed in place until 1962, doing terrible damage to passenger rail.

 

[thekeyring]

“In case it isn't already clear by now, this regulation won't apply to mobile customers based in the United Kingdom”

As the UK is not a member of the EU, I’m surprised this still needs to be said!

 

[nick9191]

I can't believe that after 6 years people still spout that nonsense "unelected bureaucrats" coming from a country that's arguable less democratic than the EU. Didn't even read the rest of your post as you immediately disqualify yourself right there.

In what way is Britain less democratic than the EU?

The comment is perfectly reasonable. European power is held tightly by the Commission, an unelected body comprised mostly of the ex-Ministers of Europe. Ironically it’s anti democratic since you usually need to lose an election in your home country in order to ascend to it.

The commission is the only body capable of proposing new legislation, the elected Parliament cannot propose legislation. No wonder the old joke “If the EU applied to join itself it would be turned down for not meeting the criteria”.

Good riddance from my point of view. For better or for worse. Laws need to be made as locally as possible to the people that they affect.

Source for my claims: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/25/the-european-commission

 

[szw-mapple fan]

First USB-C, now this. When will the EU ever stop it’s anti-consumer overreach that stops companies innovating.

This is a case where regulations are very pro-consumer. Are you actually saying roaming charges are good for innovation? How would getting charged more in Spain when you have a French plan encourage innovation for anything?

 

[Funny Apple Man]

Sunset clauses (i.e. ending a regulation after a certain period of years unless it's renewed) are actually pretty good practice -- the fact we often regulate without sunset clauses is one reason conservatives are pushing harder than ever against regulations, period. The trouble is, that's sort of a "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" kind of approach.

Good example from the past is railroad rate regulation. Much needed when passed in 1906, it was obsolete arguably within 20 years due to widespread motor vehicle sales, certainly within 25, but it didn't finally get taken off until 1980, by which time it had almost bankrupted the entire industry. Since then the main challenge to a now very profitable industry has been coping with how many lines were run down and abandoned at the tail end of regulation in from the 1960s to the mid 1980s; the tailbacks at ports and major rail junctions are evidence of this.

Another good example is the wartime railroad ticket tax introduced in 1942; instead of sunsetting at the end of the war, it stayed in place until 1962, doing terrible damage to passenger rail.

I can understand now why sometimes there are sunset clauses for regulation, thank you for the explanation.

That sounds like a great compromise for letting good regulations to be passed while at the same time making sure it doesn’t cause harm in the long run.

This reminded me of the recent EU ruling that requires all electronics to use USB-C by 2024. This is great since we know that USB-C is the best we have as the universal connector, but for how long will it stay that way until a more superior USB comes along? So I can understand the other side of the argument that are against the USB-C regulation. We don’t want the regulation to still stick by when that day comes.

For now though, USB-C in the best that we have so the regulation would be beneficial for consumers today.

 

[Knavel]

Speeds when roaming are terrible. VPN tunnel back to home network (they still need to sell your data wherever you are) and foreign network bandwidth allocations are parts of the problem. I doubt these tricks will ever be regulated.

Three UK Roaming on Optus Australia not only is restricted to 3G but is practically useless for browsing an Australian website because of the 4 trips across the planet. Get about 5K/s.

Local sims are still a necessity. Looks like esim apps are making this easier, not that it's ever been a chore going in a airport newsstand when arriving though.

Roaming within the EU can be just fine though. I travel around Europe a lot, and with the exception of Germany which has terrible mobile service in general, my data is nice and speedy almost everywhere (including the UK which is thankfully still included, though who knows for how long...).

 

[Knavel]

So the EU re-examines all their rules every ten years, or what is the deal here?

It is not unreasonable to periodically re-examine rules concerning rapidly developing technology.

 

[Knavel]

Let me give a example of how this "no roaming fees" works in the EU. I don't live in the EU but I am on holiday there. I got a 250GB prepaid SIM for 35 EUR and asked if I can use the GBs in the rest of the EU (they last 3 months, then expire). Well it seems that I can only use 22.8 GB in other countries, which is based on the price I paid (25EUR, not counting the 10EUR for the SIM card), not on how many GBs I have... (by the way I had to buy through a friend since they only do this for EU residents, foreigners cannot benefit from "no roaming").

Foreigners can benefit from no roaming, the rules apply to everyone.

It may be that the package you used was only sold to someone with a local address or a local bank account. That's a different issue, and it's not the norm. But any package you can buy, you are entitled to free roaming with.

 

[bn-7bc]

Go have the same argument with Ukraine. EU = Russia without bombs

Last tome i checked a contry has to apply to become an EU member, tthere are conditions, and the process apparently often lasts for years , and then all ( or was it 67% if the exsisting members have to sign off on the new members application and any exemptions the contry in question have gotten. Sonds like a lot mor work than Russia just deciding to invade yo one day right.

 

[Knavel]

Yes it does because roaming charges were still made between companies. All the EU’s regulation ensures is that the roaming charges received from foreign telcos are then charged to ALL their customers rather than those customers who were abroad. Essentially, mobile owners who couldn’t afford foreign holidays were subsidising the mobile phone usage of those that did.

(I worked for a major U.K. telco for best part of a decade.)

Except that EU telcoms markets did not see price increases correlated to the introduction of compulsory free roaming, so no.

 

[Sertrand Berlet]

Comparing the EU to Russia. Really? My god, there's no hope left for some people. When it comes to open borders. It's one of the great benefits of being an EU citizen. Brexiteers fuming over it are just a funny bunch. The UK had no part in Schengen to begin with, you had no fully open border with other EU members. So, what problem did you actually solve by leaving? And how come open borders between members of the European Union are a problem in your mind, but open borders between members of that other European Union (a.k.a. the United Kingdom) aren't? And what about open borders between members of that other famous union. You know, the one that starts with U and ends with nited States?

 

[nick9191]

Except that EU telcoms markets did not see price increases correlated to the introduction of compulsory free roaming, so no.

Price increases aren’t the only measure. You can’t easily increase prices in such a competitive market. It may be reflected in other ways, reduced R&D, less call centre staff etc. Ultimately any corporation has a percentage target for profit which needs to be met lest the shareholders start sharpening their knives. The lost profit will be factored in somewhere along the line. But no, I agree it’s not cheaper here because of the reintroduction of roaming.

 

[Green Valkyrie]

First USB-C, now this. When will the EU ever stop it’s anti-consumer overreach that stops companies innovating.

You're going to need a bigger boat! 👏👏👏

 

[constructor]

I bet if the UK changed their mind the EU would welcome them back in a fast accession track.

That's not really a thing. The only way to accelerate accession is by becoming rule-compliant faster, which would be a big lift for the UK; Right now the UK would not stand a chance even just by falling short in terms of democratic structures etc. Only as a grandfathered member it was able to stay, but couldn't accede in its current state even if it wanted to.

Brexit has made a new accession a much harder path than staying and reforming as a member would ever have been!

Once Scotland decides to leave the UK it will be interesting to see how the EU treats the Scot's application to rejoin.

Well, should Scotland become a member prior to England+Wales seeking accession, Scotland will have a veto by that point, as does Ireland, of course, quite possibly reunited by that point...

 

[Nuno Lopes]

Individual countries are forced to accept mass immigration. We are at polar ends of the political spectrum and will never agree on this topic.

That is the all point of the EU ... is an open and common market of people and goods between member states. Didn't you get the memo? No one forced the UK back in 1973 to join in the first place but I remember once UK finding it to be a good thing and deal.

https://www.cvce.eu/content/publication/2001/9/14/45bb74bd-554c-49d4-8212-9144ce2e8c1d/publishable_en.pdf

Now ... oh well ... the ever inspirational Boris … probably backed by parties interested in weakening the EU resolve across the Atlantic. It’s naive to think that it’s just the Russian wanting a weaker EU.