Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to discourage mobile phone companies in the UK from introducing roaming charges in the (a) EU and (b) EEA for UK-based customers.

Since the end of the Transition Period the UK is no longer part of Roam Like at Home so surcharge-free roaming for UK consumers in the EU is no longer guaranteed. Mobile operators are now able to impose a surcharge on UK consumers travelling abroad to the EU for their mobile phone usage.

Ministers have regular discussions with senior representatives of mobile operators on a range of issues, including on the issue of mobile roaming, and the government will continue to promote a competitive marketplace that serves the interests of consumers.

Regarding the EEA, the UK recently announced a new agreement with Norway and Iceland for the first ever trade provision which will reciprocally cap the costs mobile operators are allowed to charge each other for international mobile roaming between these countries. This cap is the gateway to allowing surcharge-free roaming for everyone travelling between these countries.