EU Roaming Fees: The End is Nigh

Travelers in the EU will soon be able to say “adieu” to roaming fees as the European Union moves towards a single digital market with their elimination.

Beginning June 15, travelers with service from an EU mobile operator will be able to use their mobile devices anywhere in the European Union and pay the same price they would at home, be it for voice or for data.

The European Commission first began to take action on high roaming charges in 2007 and the result has been a 92% drop in roaming charges since. In 2013, it announced plans for a “single telecoms market” by the end of 2015. Roaming costs were reduced in July 2014 and again at the end of April 2016.

In addition to free roaming, users will have access to open Internet, meaning that they will not be blocked or slowed down unfairly. In addition, paid prioritization – larger and better-known companies and websites receiving priority bandwidth over lesser-known ones – will not be allowed.

Currently, outgoing calls are up to €0.05 per minute on top of the domestic fee, while incoming calls are €0.0114 per minute. Outgoing texts can run up to €0.02 per text, and data download can run as much as €0.05 per MB.

All of these extra fees will go away on June 15, however and travelers will be able to roam without fear of coming home to a unexpectedly high mobile phone bill

(Photo: Accura Media Group)