(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/petrenkod)
Last year’s announcement that the EU would abolish roaming charges across member states brought welcome news to anyone who has ever been hit with an unexpectedly high mobile bill while traveling. However, travelers who spend long stretches of time abroad should temper their enthusiasm: the draft fair use rules for the roaming initiative, due to take effect in June 2017, impose limits on how long people can roam without incurring extra costs.
Under the proposed rules, mobile operators must allow customers to use their domestic plan while roaming in other EU countries for up to 30 consecutive days. Beyond that continuous 30-day period, users would be required to connect to their home network again or risk being charged roaming fees. Additionally, roaming without additional charges would be capped at a total of 90 days per year.
An exception applies for workers who regularly travel between countries for business: if they log onto their home network at least once per day, those days won’t count toward the 30-day consecutive or 90-day annual limits.
The 90-day threshold ties into broader EU rules tied to free movement. Citizens who spend more than three months in a single member state are generally required to register residency there. That legal framework helps explain why the Commission has limited the duration of roaming benefits before requiring users to obtain a local SIM or otherwise establish a local presence.
The rules are also intended to protect national mobile operators from misuse. Without limits, some people could buy a cheap, long-term SIM in one EU country and then spend most of the year using its allowances in another country, shifting costs onto the network operators that serve the visited country. The fair use policy seeks to balance consumer freedom with sustainable wholesale arrangements between operators.
Some carriers already operate similar schemes. For example, Three’s “Feel at Home” service in the UK lets customers use their existing allowances in a number of international destinations, including many European countries. That offering is governed by its own fair use policy, and Three warns customers that those who are abroad for extended periods—such as at least a month on more than one occasion per year—could face suspension of international roaming privileges.
Since April 2016, operators have been required to cap retail roaming charges at €0.05 per minute for calls, €0.06 per SMS, and €0.20 per MB for data. With the EU roaming initiative due to come into effect, those caps will be reduced further: calls would be capped at €0.04 per minute, texts at €0.01 per SMS, and data at €0.85 per MB, lowering the maximum charges consumers could face when roaming beyond any fair use limits.
Representatives from member states and the EU’s telecoms regulator will be invited to comment on the Commission’s draft implementing regulation before it is finalized.
What are your thoughts on the EU’s roaming proposals? Let us know in the comments.