Roaming one year later: Majority of Europeans see benefits of end to #RoamingCharges

According to a new Eurobarometer survey on roaming 82% of people who have travelled to another EU country in the last year say they have benefitted from the new rules. Moreover, 62% of Europeans are aware that roaming charges have ended and 69% think that they, or someone they know, will benefit. Especially young people recognize a clear benefit of the new rules, with 80% of those aged 15-24 seeing the advantages.

Digital Single Market Vice President Andrus Ansip and Digital Economy and Society Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said in a joint statement: "This is an example of an EU that concretely improves the life of European citizens. Roam like at home is working and is becoming a habit: customers are appreciating it, consumption is up and the demand for mobile services while travelling in the EU is very high. It benefits consumers and operators alike." The full statement is available here.

Further findings of the survey show that many travellers have started changing their mobile phone use. Respondents are less likely to restrict their mobile use while travelling (e.g. by switching off the phone or data roaming). The share of travellers who used their mobile data while roaming as often as at home has increased to 34% from 26% in 2017. The first year without roaming charges shows that in general mobile operators comply with the new rules well. National regulators are ensuring their implementation in member states.

The Commission continues its co-operation with national regulators to monitor the developments on mobile markets all over Europe and to guarantee the compliance. The Eurobarometer report on roaming is available here.

More details on roaming are available here.

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