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On June 15th, the EU will abolish roaming charges across all member states. However it's not entirely clear what FUP limits have been eventually negotiated:

  1. How much data can you use on your plan before the operator can start charging you extra?
  2. Exactly how much is the operator allowed to charge for data once you exceed your FUP limit?
  3. What are the equivalent limits and charges for calls and text messages?
  4. The official EU page about roaming costs mentions that "Roaming charges will no longer apply, as long as you are using your phone abroad temporarily". How long is temporarily and how much will you be charged if you stay for longer?
  5. Are there EU countries with special rules? E.g. I've read that Lithuanian operators are allowed to apply higher roaming charges to protect their market - is there a centralized page where I can learn about all the exemptions?

Links to official EU resources are highly appreciated. Kindly avoid referencing vague or unprecise statements - I assume that exact rules are already available somewhere, since the free roaming begins in 2 weeks.

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  • 1
    Got banned by Google, Jonathan? europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/telecoms-internet/… Commented May 29, 2017 at 10:29
  • @OleksandrKravchuk the link doesn't answer my questions
    – JonathanReez
    Commented May 29, 2017 at 10:33
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    The relevant regulation can be found at eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32016R2286.
    – waiwai933
    Commented May 29, 2017 at 11:19
  • FUP limits are something you are unlikely to reach as normal user. However, the problem is, that the regulations apply to so-called domestic prices, which are the most expensive variant for people who use no bundles, so the prices can still remain as high as the operators want them to be.
    – user45851
    Commented May 29, 2017 at 12:40
  • A long time ago I read it was something like 30 days in a year. I might have misread though.
    – JoErNanO
    Commented Jun 5, 2017 at 21:04

1 Answer 1

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Well, as much as I'd suggest to not blindly trust EU websites (been there, done that) you can find all answers you seek on this FAQ on Roam like at home regulation: it's the more recent I can find, and it's straight from the EU itself.

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/faq/frequently-asked-questions-roam-home


Now, link only answers are frowned upon, but at the same time I strongly feel that when in presence of a specific, official FAQ like this we should avoid to fully copy past it here and lose subsequent changes at the original text. Thus, I'm quoting here only a few passages of general interests, valid at least at the day I'm writing, the 2017-06-07 ISO 8601 international date format

Your communications (phone calls, SMS, data) made from another EU country will be covered in your national bundle: the minutes, SMS and gigabytes of data that you consume abroad in the EU will be charged or deducted from the volumes of your national tariff plan


You can roam like at home whenever you are in an EU country other than the country where you actually live (your effective home). If you move to and establish a durable residence in another EU country, you will no longer be able to benefit from roam like at home


The general rule is that as long as you spend more time at home than abroad, or you use your mobile phone more at home than abroad, you can roam at domestic prices when travelling wherever in the EU. This is considered a fair use of roaming services.

If this is not the case, your mobile operator may contact you. Operators can detect possible abuses based on the balance of roaming and domestic activity over a fourmonth period


If at home you have unlimited calls and SMS, you will get unlimited calls and SMS when roaming in the EU.

If at home you have unlimited mobile data or very cheap mobile data, your operator may apply a safeguard (fair use) limit on data use while roaming. If this is the case, the operator will have to inform you in advance about such a limit and have to alert you in case you reach it. That safeguard limit will be high enough to cover most, if not all, of your roaming needs. Beyond this threshold, you can continue data roaming, subject to a small charge (maximum €7.70/GB + VAT; this will decline gradually to reach €2.50/GB as of 2022).


Again, I strongly advice to check the linked page as there are much more tons of info that those quoted here, which have been quoted just to give a general understanding of the Roam like at home thing.

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