(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/tbradford)
The long-awaited end to roaming charges across the European Union is set to take effect by mid-June.
Originally proposed in 2013, the delay was mainly due to disagreements over wholesale rates between network operators. Representatives from the EU’s member states have now agreed on wholesale caps, including a gradual reduction in the data cap to €2.50 per GB by 2022.
The agreed wholesale caps are:
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3.2 cents per minute for voice calls, effective 15 June 2017
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1 cent per SMS, effective 15 June 2017
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A phased reduction in wholesale data caps over five years: €7.70 per GB (from 15 June 2017) reduced to €6.00 per GB (from 1 January 2018), €4.50 per GB (from 1 January 2019), €3.50 per GB (from 1 January 2020), €3.00 per GB (from 1 January 2021) and €2.50 per GB (from 1 January 2022).
“This was the last piece of the puzzle,” said Andrus Ansip, the European Commission’s Vice-President for the Digital Single Market. “As of 15th June, Europeans will be able to travel in the EU without roaming charges.”
Initial plans to eliminate roaming fees were part of the Telecoms Single Market initiative set out in 2013. In 2015, following a proposal from the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council agreed to abolish roaming charges for people who travel periodically within the EU.
The Commission calls the new policy “roam-like-at-home.” It resembles roaming perks that some operators already offer. For example, Three UK’s “Feel At Home” allows customers to use their domestic plans in a range of countries beyond the EU, including the United States and Hong Kong.
With the United Kingdom scheduled to leave the EU around March 2019, it is uncertain whether all operators will continue to provide free roaming to UK customers once the country is no longer subject to EU rules, unless domestic regulators require it. Operators that stop offering roaming benefits may risk harming customer relations.
The Commission will review the wholesale market by the end of 2019 and will provide co-legislators with an interim assessment by 15 December 2018.
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