roaming will remain free in the EU until at least 2032
The European Parliament has made new agreements with the EU countries on roaming rules. Thanks to the new rules that have been drawn up, the roaming rules will be extended until 2032, but there is also less positive news; nothing will change about international calling for the time being, and that’s a shame.
Roaming free in the EU until 2032
Until 2032, the current roaming rules as agreed between EU countries in 2017 will continue to apply. This concerns roaming in countries that belong to the European Union. Countries such as Norway and Iceland were also covered at the time, as far as is known, nothing will change when using the telephone in those countries. This means that the use of internet, calling minutes and text messages in these and EU countries will simply be taken out of the bundle again. For those with an unlimited internet bundle, a maximum limit is set for roaming. This maximum varies per provider. In the coming years, tariff reductions will mean that the amount of data to be used will change. The situation surrounding Brexit and the use of telephones in the United Kingdom can still do business, but there is still a lack of information about this.
The current rules will run until June 30, 2022. These new roaming rules will come into effect from July 1, 2022. Countries have also discussed a number of other matters related to roaming together. This concerns so-called benefits and protections for consumers. If you have access to 5G in your home country, this option must also be offered abroad. If this is not possible, providers must inform the customer. In addition, telephone users should have improved access to emergency communications. For example, when calling emergency number 112, the location of the caller must automatically be sent in each country.
No agreement was reached on the international calling issue. This specifically concerns calling from the Netherlands to a foreign country, for example. Calling from one EU country to another EU country (i.e. not from France to the Netherlands, for example) remains more expensive than simply calling home. A maximum rate of 19 cents per minute has been agreed, so that is outside the bundle.
