The Commission services published on 26 September 2016 a revised draft of the rules needed to avoid abuses of the end of roaming charges in time for June 2017.
This follows on from discussions in the College of Commissioners on 21st September during which Commissioners endorsed a new approach to the fair use principle and agreed that there should be no limits in terms of timing or volume imposed on consumers when using their mobile devices abroad in the EU. At the same time the new approach is expected to provide a solid safeguard mechanism for operators against potential abuses through:
Safeguards against abuses based on residence or permanent links to an EU country;
Safeguards in case of exceptional circumstances in the domestic markets.
Next steps
Member States will examine the draft proposal in the Communications Committee (COCOM).
The Body of European Regulators in Electronic Communications (BEREC) will provide its opinion to the European Commission.
The draft text has been shared with Members of the European Parliament, COCOM and BEREC. The Commission services are open to feedback on the draft proposal from other interested parties. This issue will also be discussed on 28th September during a workshop at the Digital Assembly 2016 in Bratislava.
Following these discussions, the Commission is due to adopt the implementing act by 15 December 2016 – in time to end roaming charges for consumers who travel in the EU as of 15 June 2017.
The draft document and the original article are available here. (Source: European Commission, Digital Single Market)