Impact of Brexit on mobile roaming

bugfreebob

While not on the same scale as people losing jobs, or being forced to pay college fees, it is worth considering the negative aspects of Brexit on UK roaming charges.

It is now likely that the elimination of roaming charges in EU planned for 2017 will not include UK. While Meteor & Eir customers already enjoy free roaming in UK, it is only a matter of time before UK operators re-impose high roaming charges on all aliens. The other operators probably won't now ever introduce free roaming in the UK.

Switzerland is a good example - where roaming costs are typically around €1.80 per minute and €10,000 per GByte! Also those warning messages that operators are forced to give you in the EU won't be mandated in UK, so you mightn't know about your over-spend until you get home! Your shopping trip up to Newry could prove expensive if you leave your phone switched on!

Also - remember that the EU stopped the proposed merger of O2 & Three in the UK having seen the debacle it caused in Ireland. Telefonica (O2) will likely still want to get out of UK, and the merger will probably now go ahead, reducing the UK to two viable networks British Telecom(EE) & Vodafone, and one dysfunctional network (Three) - like Ireland.

I am sure there will be other impacts

ED E

We Three customers have Like Home so not a single care was given. Really mobile roaming agreements are such small fry at this point its probably not on most peoples radar.

Vodafone and Three straddle both btw, as do MVNOs so its only Eircom Group customers that could be left in the dark.

bugfreebob

ED E wrote: »

We Three customers have Like Home so not a single care was given. Really mobile roaming agreements are such small fry at this point its probably not on most peoples radar.

The multi-national mobile Operators would still be milking roaming across the EU if regulations had not forced down the rates. Vodafone still charge their Irish customers a standard rate of €2 per minute and €6000 per GB in Turkey where they have a network vs 6c per min and €60 per GB in Spain where the EU regulations kick in. They only introduced the lower rates in the EU when forced to. True, they have a Vodafone Red add-on at €2.99 per day which probably meets the requirements of many users - but at €90 per month, this is still a long way from the free roaming that is due to kick in next year across the EU. Removed from the EU regulations, I see no reason why Vodafone won't seek to re-instate higher roaming fees in the UK.

Charles Babbage

Things like cross border mobile roaming were not properly addressed in the Belfast agreement, when there is some sort of new one now these things must be regulated. And of course we may still have cheap roaming in Scotland too.

Lord Nikon

bugfreebob wrote: »

While Meteor & Eir customers already enjoy free roaming in UK

Being an Eircom and Meteor customer, roaming was never free. You had a daily allowance of 50mb, after which was used, you had to pay. Unless, you purchased an Add-On.

Elemonator

Roaming in NI is stupid in more ways than one.

bugfreebob

Lord Nikon wrote: »

Being an Eircom and Meteor customer, roaming was never free. You had a daily allowance of 50mb, after which was used, you had to pay. Unless, you purchased an Add-On.

Eir & Meteor bill-pay customers get free roaming throughout EU with 1GB per month allowance included. Works in all countries and on all their roaming partners. Add-ons only required for pre-pay, 99c per day and there is a 1GB option for €15 per month. Good options, in my opinion.

Three roam-like-home only works on own networks in a handful of countries. Three snare you with roaming charges the minute you fall of their network, even in ROI near the border!. Very sneaky, because most users won't know they have changed network. Vodafone require an add-on for bill pay and pre-pay at €2.99 per day - expensive, but they give you 200MB per day and at least they are up-front about the charging.

Quackster

bugfreebob wrote: »

While not on the same scale as people losing jobs, or being forced to pay college fees, it is worth considering the negative aspects of Brexit on UK roaming charges.

It is now likely that the elimination of roaming charges in EU planned for 2017 will not include UK. While Meteor & Eir customers already enjoy free roaming in UK, it is only a matter of time before UK operators re-impose high roaming charges on all aliens. The other operators probably won't now ever introduce free roaming in the UK.

Switzerland is a good example - where roaming costs are typically around €1.80 per minute and €10,000 per GByte! Also those warning messages that operators are forced to give you in the EU won't be mandated in UK, so you mightn't know about your over-spend until you get home! Your shopping trip up to Newry could prove expensive if you leave your phone switched on!

Also - remember that the EU stopped the proposed merger of O2 & Three in the UK having seen the debacle it caused in Ireland. Telefonica (O2) will likely still want to get out of UK, and the merger will probably now go ahead, reducing the UK to two viable networks British Telecom(EE) & Vodafone, and one dysfunctional network (Three) - like Ireland.

I am sure there will be other impacts

The UK is still a full member of the EU and will still be a full member of the EU in June of next year so the abolition of roaming charges next year will apply to the UK. That is a certainty.

Going forward, if the UK chooses to remain in the EEA, the EU roaming directive will still apply to it, just as it does in non-EU states Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway. Of course, if the UK decides to also leave the EEA when it leaves the EU, then the roaming directive will cease to apply to it unless they decide to keep it in place (which they may decide to do).