The EC will prepare an impact assessment by the end of this year as the regulation is due to expire on 30 June 2022.
One of the EU success stories: The Roaming Regulation has been arguably one of the most successful pieces of consumer legislation in recent years, which has resulted in European citizens being able to use their smartphones abroad in the same way as they do at home. On 19 June 2020, the EC announced the beginning of a public consultation on the review of the Roaming Regulation, which is set to expire on 30 June 2022. The consultation is open until 11 September 2020, and will inform the impact assessment the EC plans to produce by Q4 2020.
The Regulation is likely to stay: The success of the Regulation, combined with the lack of fundamental change in the market for roaming, makes it likely that the Commission will continue the Regulation after its review. In its Inception Impact Assessment of April 2020, the EC noted then that market conditions do not yet appear to guarantee that roam-like-at-home would continue without regulatory intervention, and that the rules therefore need to be extended.
Eyes on wholesale roaming and QoS: One aspect on which rules could be eased relates to wholesale roaming prices. In practice, prices have been generally lower than the caps due to the increase in roaming volumes, which has triggered further competition in the supply for wholesale roaming. Deutsche Telekom has already warned about further regulation, arguing that, if regulation is to continue, regulated caps should not be lower than those set for 2022. Quality of service could also be part of the review. A BEREC report of December 2019 found that 46% of the operators provide roaming over 3G even where 4G is available, and 61% of them do not plan to upgrade to 4G. This has led the European consumer organisation BEUC to advocate for clearer rules, whereas ETNO notes that dissatisfaction about roaming is very rarely a concern for consumers, and does not warrant further regulation.
