O2 brings back roaming charges for Britons travelling to the EU with £3.50 bill for every gigabyte used over 25GB
- Latest fallout from Brexit deal, which asked networks to have ‘fair rates’ for users
- Ministers at the time said they would not prevent the reintroduction of charges
- O2 announced change Wednesday and said it would take effect from August 2
O2 has announced plans reintroduce roaming charges for Britons travelling to the EU.
From August, the network’s customers will face a £3.50 bill for every gigabyte used over 25GB.
In an email to customers on Wednesday O2 said there would be ‘changes to our roaming fair usage policy’ from August 2.
‘As your monthly UK data allowance is over 25GB, you can still use your data in our Europe Zone,
‘But it’s now subject to a Roaming Limit of 25GB. Once you’ve reached this limit you’ll be charged an additional cost of £3.50/GB’, the email, seen by the Independent, said.
O2 has announced plans reintroduce roaming charges for Britons travelling to the EU. From August, the network’s customers will face a £3.50 bill for every gigabyte used over 25GB
It is the latest fallout from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, agreed on Christmas eve last year, which left open the option to reintroduce data tariffs in the EU.
The agreement only stated operators should have ‘fair and transparent rates for international mobile roaming’.
‘It also covers obligations on net neutrality, which fulfils the UK’s dual aims of securing commitments towards an open internet and protecting the safety of users online,’ the government said in a statement.
At the time, ministers were clear they had no intention of preventing the reintroduction of roaming charges.
Following the Christmas Eve deal, mobile network providers O2, EE, and Vodafone, reassured customers they would not immediately re-introduce roaming tariffs in Europe after December 31, 2020.
It had previously been unclear whether those travelling to the continent after the Brexit transition period ends would be subject to roaming charges.
An O2 spokesperson said at the time: ‘We’re committed to providing our customers with great connectivity and value when they travel outside the UK.
‘We currently have no plans to change our roaming services across Europe.’
Since June 2017, all European citizens within the European Economic Area have benefited from the abolition of roaming charges when temporarily visiting other countries within the continent.
Since June 2017, all European citizens within the European Economic Area have benefited from the abolition of roaming charges when temporarily visiting other countries within the continent
Because of this, UK citizens have been able to enjoy, for example, checking their email in France and making a video call home from Germany for the same prices under their contract as if they were doing so within Britain.
The government has passed legislation making it mandatory for users to be told when they reach 80 and 100 per cent of their data allowance.
The new laws also put at £45-a-month limit on overseas roaming fees. Customers must then opt-in and accept extra charges to continue using data.
Providers must also take ‘reasonable steps’ to avoid users receiving unfair charges for accidentally roaming on Irish Republic networks while in Northern Ireland.