Will Brexit affect roaming charges?
There are concerns that the impending exit of the UK from the EU is going to affect the plans to abolish roaming charges within EU countries.
The four major mobile phone operators have confirmed that they believe that Brexit will only impact the changes to roaming charges if the EU itself discontinues its current plans. The process of the UK leaving the EU could take a couple of years to finalise, and the plan is for roaming charges to be abolished in the EU completely by the middle of next year.
BT has said that customers are still going to be able to use the roaming packages offered by the company, and there are no plans to alter the pricing structure. Three has also confirmed that there are no plans to change roaming charges but that renegotiation could be tricky when the UK leaves the EU.
Vodafone has not commented on the effect of Brexit on roaming charges but has said that its main concern is its customers, no matter what the impact. Vodafone has confirmed that each of its businesses, regardless of its country location, is operated independently and can adapt to local regulations easily if needed.
There is a strong possibility that the UK will be able to negotiate to keep the abolition of roaming charges following its official exit, but this could mean that it will face other conditions. Mobile providers will also take into consideration that charging roaming fees could have a negative impact on their businesses, and industry experts believe that backtracking on current promises would be very difficult.