Although before June 15, 2017, there were already some operators that voluntarily offered the free roaming in Europe and even more countriesit was from that date that it became mandatory for everyone and in all their rates (unless someone justified that they could not bear the cost of that measure).
That meant that everything applicable to our domestic rate (including call charges and data bonuses) applied when traveling within the European Union and some associated countries (Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein). That included, of course, the United Kingdom, but what happened after Brexit? It’s our turn pay more for calls and data when we travel there as was speculated long ago?
Everything as before: UK is still in zone 1
When free roaming became mandatory, the complete list included the 28 most associated European Union countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, France (including the Aland Islands, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte), Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic , United Kingdom (including Gibraltar)Romania, San Marino and Sweden.
Also, some operators decided to voluntarily expand that list, such as Vodafone, which also allows the use of its rates at no additional cost in the United States, Switzerland and Turkey, among others. As a consequence of the Brexit that entered into force on January 1, 2021, many of us feared that this list would be reduced with her departure from the United Kingdom.
The Spanish Government, on the La Moncloa website, said the following:
“As of January 1, 2021, European regulations cease to apply in the United Kingdom and therefore telephone operators will not have the obligation to maintain surcharge-free roaming (calls made and received, SMS messages sent and services of data) when users move from the United Kingdom to the European Union and vice versa.”
So what’s happening right now with roaming in the UK? Well, each operator can decide whether to keep that country within free roaming or not. Before Brexit, they all assured us that they had no plans to change their roaming services in Europe, so the UK would still be included in the free roaming rates. Let’s see if they kept their word:
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Telephonewhich includes the Movistar and O2 brands, considers the United Kingdom as an ‘associated country’ or zone 1 (such as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), so that it is possible to use the minutes, messages and data of your national rate as if you were in Spain.
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MásMóvil, Pepephone and Yoigo They also include the United Kingdom in the list of associated countries or zone 1, just like Gibraltar, so your data, calls and messages there will have the same cost as they have in your rate.
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Vodafone Spainwhich also includes Lowi, clarifies that the United Kingdom is still included in the list of roaming zone 1 countries, so you will continue to enjoy the same benefits of your national rate, at no additional cost, when you travel there.
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The orange group (Jazztel and Simyo included) keeps the United Kingdom (including Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey) on the list of zone 1 countries and, therefore, customers will be able to use the benefits of their rate as if they were in Spain.
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virgin telco, from the Euskaltel Group, explains that, although the United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Economic Area, it continues to apply the same as in the rest of the countries of the European Union. That means “when you travel to England, Ireland or Scotland, you won’t pay anything else.”
So it’s clear that all major carriers in the country do not currently charge extra for roaming in the UK. And if any of them decide to start doing it, as ordered by the Government, he will be obliged “to notify one month in advance to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and all affected customers.”