HomeInsightsEuropean Commission publishes first full review of the roaming market

The review shows that travellers across the EU have significantly benefitted from the end of roaming charges in June 2017. The use of mobile data while travelling in the EU has increased tenfold compared to the year before, with a peak of 12 times higher use of mobile data abroad during the holiday period.

The use of roaming data within the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) peaked in the holiday period of summer 2018 (third quarter) with 12 times higher use of mobile data abroad compared to before all retail roaming costs were scrapped. Over the same period, the volume of phone calls made while roaming was almost three times higher.

At wholesale level, the sharp reduction in price caps has contributed to a further reduction in wholesale roaming prices, which in turn makes end of roaming charges sustainable for almost all roaming providers.

The review concludes that the competition dynamics in the roaming market are not likely to change in the near future, which means that the current retail and wholesale regulation is still necessary. The Commission says that the current rules for roaming should continue to apply in the coming years to ensure that citizens can benefit from roaming at no additional cost within the EU. To read the Commission’s press release in full and for a link to the review, click here.