Potential return of roaming premiums causes latest Brexit flap

UK parliament has drafted new legislation that would release UK operators from their commitments not to charge extra for roaming in Europe.

The scoop was grabbed by the Huffington Post, which notes that the government will probably release operators from this obligation in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. The apparent rationale is that, since the UK will no longer be able to oblige European operators not to charge UK operators a wholesale premium for roaming, it wouldn’t be fair to prevent them from passing that cost onto their customers.

Those opposed to Brexit have inevitably seized on this latest development as further evidence of what a catastrophe the whole thing will be. Labour MP Tom Watson brought it up in the house of commons and exploited the opportunity for a spot of scripted grandstanding to the fullest, which you can see below.
 

Wholesale carrier service provider BICS reckons it’s unlikely we’ll see a return to the bad old days, however, because operators on both sides of the channel will be aware of how unpopular such a move would be.

“The prospect of a ‘no deal’ in March has fuelled speculation about whether we’ll see the return of roaming charges, and post-holiday ‘bill shock’,” said Mikaël Schachne, VP of Mobility Solutions and IoT Business at BICS. “But with LTE/4G data roaming traffic in Europe surging by 600-800% after the implementation of Roam Like at Home, it would be exceptionally unwise for operators to go against such clear demand.

“In its abolition of roaming charges, the EU set a major precedent, and motivated other operators to offer competitive international tariffs. Most of us have now grown accustomed to using our mobile phones – and all of those data-intensive apps and services – when we’re abroad, to a similar degree as when we’re in the UK. In taking that away, operators risk alienating their customer base, and risk haemorrhaging subscribers to those offering more cost-efficient roaming packages.

“In the event that all UK operators decide to opt out of Roam Like at Home following a no-deal, we’re still unlikely to see the high tariffs that once existed. Roaming packages promote and drive subscriber loyalty, and encourage the use of all manner of mobile services and apps, helping operators to market and deliver additional services, making it in service providers’ best interests to stay competitive.”

Last summer UK operators indicated they have no intention of bringing back roaming, but as the prospect of ‘no deal’ grows only Three seems to be categorically ruling out any kind of hike. That could get interesting for Three if their wholesale roaming partners start getting funny ideas and our advice would be to publicly name and shame any such opportunistic European operators.

There will certainly be all sorts of bureaucratic chaos when Brexit finally happens, but you can’t undo decades of co-dependence overnight. Still, on the plus side, thanks to anticipated shortages of Mars bars, McDonald’s and Magnums we’ll probably all lose loads of weight and look great on the beach. Shame we won’t be able to afford to show off about it on social media, but you can’t have everything can you?