(Pocket-lint) – Citizens of European Union countries will be able to continue to use their mobile phones in other EU member states without incurring extra charges for another decade. The commission has extended the deadline of the roaming regulation.
With the original agreement to expire today, 30 June 2022, a new regulation will come into force on 1 July 2022 and will last until 2032.
That means consumers will have access to the same services across the EU as they do at home. That now also includes 5G services, which has been written into the improved regulation.
Of course, some providers may extend that service further afield. They must also better inform customers “about the types of services that can bring additional costs”, such as calling service numbers and helpdesks.
Any addtional roaming charges in those cases must be informed by SMS text messages.
Of course, after Brexit this doesn’t apply to UK mobile customers. UK mobile users will still incur roaming charges across the EU depending on their network. Most networks in the UK have now reintroduced roaming charges when travelling to EU member states.
Only Virgin Media O2 has opted not to reintroduce charges. The others do have charge caps for European phone use, however, which is generally around £2 per day.
Writing by Rik Henderson.
