The end of roaming charges on 15 June has led to changes in the way Europeans use their mobile phones abroad. This was revealed in a Eurobarometer flash news item, the results of which were published on Tuesday 26 September.
The survey indicates that 71% of Europeans are aware of the scrapping of roaming costs and that the proportion of travellers using mobile data when roaming is as frequent as when they are using it in their own countries, and actually doubled after 15 June (31%) compared to previous months (15%). Nonetheless, 60% of travellers continue to limit their use of their mobile phones when they are in another EU country other than their own.
In mid-June, Regulation 531/2012 put an end to surcharges invoiced by telephone operators during trips to other member states (retail roaming). This reform was made possible by another regulation on retail roaming, which limits the prices operators can invoice between themselves – and through a “reasonable use” policy intended to keep any abusive use of the system down. An operator who experiences any compromise to the viability of their national tariff mode can request their national regulatory authority to apply surcharges (lower than those in force in the retail market).
30 operators have exemptions
According to the European Commission, fewer than 30 mobile telephony operators have received this kind of exemption. This mainly affects mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) active in countries where data costs very little. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)