UK to Be Excluded From EU Roaming Caps Due to Brexit

The United Kingdom will be excluded from impending EU roaming charge caps after starting the Brexit process, an EU Parliament memo, cited by the Independent newspaper, said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — EU roaming charges are set by Regulation No 531/2012. Earlier in February, EU institutions finalized a deal to amend the regulation, thus eliminating roaming charges across the European Union from June 15 this year. The "roam-like-at-home" structure will allow EU citizens to make calls, send texts, and use mobile data within the bloc at the same rates they pay at home.

"Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 on roaming will no longer apply with respect to the UK, impacting business and other travellers to and from the UK," a leaked document from the European Parliament's industry, research and energy committee reads, as quoted by the newspaper.

Committee chair Jerzy Buzek reportedly said that it would be necessary for the United Kingdom and EU parliamentary committees to hammer out a deal if the sides wanted to address the problem.

The UK government plans to start withdrawal negotiations by the end of March, months before the roaming rules kick in.

From June, EU roaming charges will be limited to 3.2 cents ($0.034) per minute, one cent per text message and 7.7 euros per gigabyte of data. Internet charges are then set to decrease to 2.5 euros per gigabyte through 2022.

The European Union has been reducing roaming charges since introducing a corresponding regulation in 2012.