‘Roam like at home’ tariffs within the EU will start on June 15

New tariffs for calling, texting or surfing online with a mobile phone in another European country than your own will take effect on June 15, 2017. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs have, on behalf of the Netherlands, helped draft the new roaming rules. Henk Don, Member of the Board of ACM, explains: “This will come as good news to a lot of people, doubly so because we are so close to the summer holidays. When using their phones abroad, people will pay the same tariffs as those in their plans back home, hence the phrase ‘Roam like at home’. ACM will check whether telecom providers fully comply with the new rules.”

For mobile plans and pre-paid SIM cards

This new situation applies to consumers and business customers. The new roaming rules apply to mobile plans and prepaid SIM cards, and will take effect in all countries of the European Union. Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein will also adopt said rules. They do not apply to all other countries. Telecom providers are free to determine how much they charge for their roaming services in those countries. In addition, the new rules do not apply to mobile calls and texts from the Netherlands to other countries. For that category, too, telecom providers are allowed to set their own tariffs.

Preventing abuse

On June 15, the new roaming rules will come into force throughout the European Union. The basic principle of these new roaming rules is that mobile-phone owners within the European Union can use their domestic plan abroad just like at home. Telecom providers are, however, allowed to protect themselves against abuse. They can add a surcharge if customers are abroad for a longer period of time and use more data than at home. In addition, for customers with an unlimited data plan or a cheap data plan, telecom providers can limit the amount of mobile data to a reasonable amount. These customers are entitled to a data allowance of at least 2 Gigabyte for every EUR 7.70 they pay to their provider.