The European Commission has issued its first proposal for a fair-use policy for roaming, suggesting a cap of 90 days per year on the use of 'roam like home' rates in the EU. This would be the minimum number of days consumers would be allowed to roam in the EU at the same price as in their home country.
The possibility of a limit on roam like home was included in the original EU regulation passed last year, which sets a date of June 2017 for an end to all roaming surcharges in the EU. It was left up to the Commission to define the terms aimed at preventing abuse of the roam like home regulation.
Operators will be allowed to apply the FUP in order to prevent permanent roaming using a SIM from another country, something consumers may consider if foreign offers are cheaper than their domestic rates. After using 'roam like home' for 90 days a year, customers would be subject to additional surcharges on EU roaming, but these could not be any higher than the Commission's proposed new wholesale roaming rates. The latter are still subject to approval from the European Parliament and Council, but were proposed at 4 eurocents per minute, 1 cent per SMS and 0.85 cents per MB.
The FUP would also allow a more general cap on the use of 'roam like home' for customers with plans allowing unlimited usage or very high volumes. The amount of roaming by these customers at domestic prices could be limited to the average amount they consume when in their home country, after which the operator could impose surcharges. The average consumption is determined by all users of the respective plan over a year and must be stated in the terms and conditions of the contract.
The Commission also allowed for an exception for people working everyday across borders, who would not be subject to the same fair-use limitations. They would be expected to still connect to their home network on a daily basis. In general, all mobile users would be expected to connect to their home networks every 30 days in order to qualify for the roam-like-home rates.
The roaming regulation also allows operators to charge more for roaming if they can prove they are unable to cover their costs for roaming when charging the same rates as in the home market and the losses on roaming could force them to raise domestic prices. The Commission's proposal includes details on how the costs of providing roaming are calculated and the data operators must supply in order for national regulators to evaluate a request for adding roaming surcharges to retail rates.
Operators would have to show they have a negative margin of at least 5 percent on providing roaming. In addition, they must show that they are not able to absorb the losses as part of a bigger group of companies within the EU or under the competitive climate of their domestic markets, nor could they alternatively apply a more restrictive fair-use policy rather than raising roaming prices.
The Commission's draft implementing regulation must still be discussed with the member states and the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (Berec). It already held a public consultation earlier this year and aims to implement the policy by 15 December this year.
