Mobile operators in the EU/EEA are not allowed to levy any roaming charges for any fair usage of roaming services by their customers, since 15 June 2017, except in a few cases duly authorized by national regulators to avoid any increase in domestic prices. EU/EEA roaming rules regulate the price of providing wholesale roaming services for this purpose. The wholesale roaming regulation is subject to a review by the Commission, in collaboration with national regulators acting through the Body of European Regulators in Electronic Communications (BEREC), by 15 December 2019.
This study will assist the Commission and national regulators in this review. The overall objective of the study is to estimate the efficiently incurred costs of providing wholesale roaming services by mobile network operators in the EU. The study will further develop and/or update the cost model developed in 2015-2016 in the previous wholesale roaming review by the Commission (SMART 2015/0006). The cost model developed by the study and its outputs will go through a consultation process with national regulators and BEREC.
The outcome of the study will be used by the Commission as an input for its review of wholesale roaming markets in the EU/EEA under the new roaming rules in force since 15 June 2017.