Mobile telephony: Roaming without additional charges for another decade

The EU will renew the “Roam Like At Home” program for another ten years, in line with the plans approved by th European Parliament.

The legislative framework agreed in December between the Parliament and the Council follows on from the Regulation on the abolition of roaming surcharges adopted in 2017.

Mobile phone users will continue to make calls, when travelling abroad within the EU, without any additional charges other than those already paid in their countries.

In addition, they will enjoy the same quality and speed of mobile connection abroad as in their own country. Providers will be obliged to offer the same quality of roaming as the services they provide in their home country, as long as there are the same conditions on the network of the country visited by consumers.

During the negotiations with the Council, MEPs have ensured that the new rules include a provision banning practices that reduce the quality of roaming services, for example by switching from 4G to 3G.

Free access to emergency services

Travelers and people with disabilities will have access to emergency services free of charge, whether by call or text, including the transmission of caller location information. Providers should also offer information on the European emergency number 112.

Converning the abolition of surcharges for intra-EU calls

During talks with Member States’ ministers, MEPs pushed for an end to extra charges for calls within the EU (e.g. when calling from Belgium to Italy), as consumers remain confused about the difference between roaming calls and calls within the EU.

Currently, the cost of intra-EU calls is capped at 19 euro cents per minute. This agreement foresees that the Commission will examine this issue and assess whether further reductions of the ceilings are necessary.

Wholesale roaming charges (i.e. when one provider charges another for the use of the latter’s networks by the latter’s customers) will charge a maximum of 2 euros per Gigabyte from 2022 and will gradually decrease to 1 euro by 2027. If consumers exceed the limits of their roaming contract, any additional charges may not be higher than the wholesale roaming caps.

Next steps

The legislation, adopted with 581 votes in favor, 2 against and 5 abstentions, will enter into force as soon as it is adopted by the Council.