Since the end of the Brexit transition period (1 January 2021), there has been no obligation on UK mobile operators to guarantee surcharge-free roaming across the European Economic Area (EEA). Other protections, including a daily limit on roaming costs, expired on 30 June 2022. Consumers travelling to the EU will need to check the roaming policies of their mobile operator before they go abroad.
According to the British government, mobile roaming occurs when a mobile customer travels abroad and continues to use their home mobile service. Their phone will need to connect to another network in order to make and receive calls and texts and to access the internet. For this to be possible, the customer’s home network operator must conclude commercial agreements with foreign operators to use their networks (known as wholesale roaming). Until 2017 most mobile operators charged customers higher prices for using their service abroad to help cover the cost of wholesale roaming agreements.
In the EU, roaming surcharges for retail customers were abolished for an initial period of 5 years from June 2017 (Regulation (EU) 2012/531). For surcharge-free roaming to be commercially viable for operators, EU regulations also set limits on the wholesale roaming prices mobile operators can charge each other. In practice, the EU Roaming Regulation meant that UK mobile customers could use their domestic allowance of minutes, text messages and data throughout the European Economic Area (EEA) without incurring additional charges, subject to limits such as a fair use policy. This continued through the transition period, due to the Withdrawal Agreement.
The EU regulation was renewed in 2022, extending the right to surcharge-free roaming until 2032 (Regulation (EU) 2022/612). This was not retained in UK law as it was enacted after the end of the ‘transition period’ (which ran from 1 February to 31 December 2020). Consumers travelling to the EU will need to check the roaming policies of their mobile operator before they go abroad. Customers will need to ensure they are aware of what charges may be incurred and understand strategies for avoiding charges (such as turning off roaming services or setting bill limits).
Ofcom’s webpage, Using your mobile abroad, provides further guidance.
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