UK's Virgin Mobile and O2 Network Users Won't Face EU Roaming Charges When Traveling Abroad

Users of Virgin Mobile and O2 networks based in the UK will not face EU roaming charges when traveling abroad, the company that owns both networks has announced (via BBC News).

virgin media o2
Based on an analysis of rates from other provides, Virgin Media O2 said a family of four going abroad for two weeks could see an extra £100 on their bill. As such, the company said it would not be re-introducing EU roaming charges, post-Brexit.

"We're starting the year by giving our customers some certainty: we will not be reintroducing roaming fees in Europe for customers on O2 or Virgin Mobile," said Gareth Turpin, chief commercial officer.

"With many Brits now looking to plan a trip abroad, we've got our customers covered and extra roaming charges will be one less thing to worry about."

In 2021, Three, EE, and Vodafone announced the return of roaming charges to come into effect later this year.

Before the U.K. formally exited the European Union, mobile customers generally didn't have to worry about roaming charges when using their phone in the EU, with most phone tariffs counting calls, texts, and data used in EU countries as equivalent to domestic use.

When the UK-EU trade deal was signed in December 2020, mobile operators were once again able to charge customers when traveling in Europe with "transparent and reasonable rates."

Originally, EE, Three, and Vodafone stated they had no plans to reintroduce roaming charges after Brexit, but all have since announced changes, some under a "fair use" clause.

Top Rated Comments

Deej Avatar
29 months ago

You have wanted Brexit? ?
Not all of us...!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
addictive Avatar
29 months ago
I've been with EE for over five years probably longer but they are re-introducing roaming fees. First of all it was meant to be this month now it's March. If they don't change their policy (and they still might) then I'll be switching from EE to O2.

The mobile phone networks are going to face such severe backlash for gouging their customers. They came out last year at the beginning of the Brexit transition promising there would be no re-introduction of price increases now EU roaming was no more. Then several months later one network says they will increase charges. Then another network, then a third network.

I hope Vodafone, EE and Three all lose millions of customers to O2 who are the only network to resist the gouging of their customers.

These are all trans-national companies, their costs are not increasing because of Brexit. It's simple profiteering and given their stupidity in first announcing no price increases were coming the networks deserve the PR nightmare some of them will experience this year.

They have a few weeks/months to go back on their policy because if there is mass tourism in Europe from the UK this summer people are gonna have huge phone bills again and it's gonna be an apocalyptic show of negative news stories for these greedy networks.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Deej Avatar
29 months ago
This is A.Good.Thing! We in the UK need to do more with the other telcos to 'encourage' them not to reintroduce the roaming charges.. Most of them are part of another group which own the networks in Europe (and beyond) too, so any noise around interconnect costs is just rubbish..
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
krspkbl Avatar
29 months ago
don't think we should have left the EU at all but here we are... scotland dragged out against its will. anyway, good on VMo2 doing this. any company that reintroduces charges is doing it out of greed. VMo2 will gain a lot of customers and hopefully force others to rethink their approach. i assume MVNO's like Giffgaff who run on o2 are included?

brexit is a mess but this is one small tiny glint of positivity but the whole situation could've been avoided. **** brexit and anyone who voted for or supports it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TwoBytes Avatar
29 months ago
I am hopeful EE will follow this, otherwise, they are going to lose a hell of a load of customers. They need to mitigate damage soon to avoid upcoming damage as when people move, they move.

To be honest, I assume there is complete panic in the EE headquarters as they are scrambling to hold onto customers from this announcement. Prices across networks are vastly similar and it's easy to move across these days to another network if you're not tied into a deal.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
addictive Avatar
29 months ago

This is A.Good.Thing! We in the UK need to do more with the other telcos to 'encourage' them not to reintroduce the roaming charges.. Most of them are part of another group which own the networks in Europe (and beyond) too, so any noise around interconnect costs is just rubbish..
Exactly. I hope there's numerous negative stories about the gouging of the other networks and a vast number of customers from these networks all migrate to O2.

Personally I do wonder if this is part of O2's strategy here. Refuse to re-introduce roaming and vacuum up all the disgruntled customers from Vodafone/EE/Three over the next year. They could add a huge number of unhappy customers.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...