Mobile phone users elsewhere in Europe are looking forward to the complete removal of roaming charges across the continent in June 2017.
But now Britain has voted to leave the EU , it is unclear whether British people travelling to the continent will enjoy the same benefit.
Speaking to the BBC before the referendum, minister for the digital economy Ed Vaizey said: "roughly a million Brits stay the night in Europe every day, and they spend around £350m a year on roaming charges,"
"So by realising these changes, we're going to save British consumers millions of pounds a year."
Ed Vaizey MP has spoken of the benefits of scrapping European roaming charges
Roaming charges are imposed when a mobile phone connects to an operator based abroad. The roaming fees are paid on top of your existing call charges.
On April 30 this year, existing roaming charges were reduced, with fees for outgoing and incoming calls, data and texts capped.
The tables below shows you the limits that mobile operators currently have to adhere to.
The limits are based on Euro figures excluding VAT, so the cost in Sterling is subject to changes in both exchange rates and VAT rates.
Maximum charges in EU from April 30th, 2016 until June 15th, 2017
| Limit in € ex VAT | Limit in £ inc VAT | |
| Call mins sent/received | €0.05/€0.05 | £0.05 |
| Texts sent | €0.02 | £0.02 |
| MB of data | €0.05 | £0.05 |
The controls imposed by the EU on mobile phone operators were introduced under an EU regulation and are not incorporated into UK law.
Using your phone abroad might become more expensive - or it might not
The existing reduction in roaming charges remains in place following the vote on Thursday, but in the future things may change.
"They might stay, or they might not stay," Mr Vaizey said before the vote.
Now the UK has decided to exit, the European Union's controls on roaming charges will presumably, at some point, cease to apply.
Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com said: "Mobile users may be concerned that roaming protections put in place by the European Commission may now be undone but whether roaming rates will rise again is a question for the networks.
"We hope that pricing remains consistent for consumers, so they can continue to use their mobile with confidence wherever they travel to in the EU."
When asked this morning about the future of the fees, a government spokesman said that: "Nothing will change overnight as a result of this decision."
They also sought to reassure travellers, saying that the government was "committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the British people now that decision has been made."
What do the networks say?
Some mobile phone operators we contacted emphasised that the high level of uncertainty prevents them from predicting the future of roaming charges in Europe.
Speaking for Vodafone, Jane Frapwell said: "The political and economic consequences of the UK's withdrawal from the EU are for others to consider now that the UK electorate has reached its decision."
"In terms of the implications for Vodafone, each of our country businesses operates as a standalone entity able to adapt to a wide range of local conditions."
"It’s far too early to comment on specifics but, as we said before the referendum, we remain committed to supporting our UK customers regardless of the outcome, now and in the future."
This was echoed by a spokesperson for O2: "We can’t predict what may happen in the future. We will continue to offer competitive prices to our customers who use their mobile device when they travel overseas."
A BT spokesperson provides some hope for British consumers, they said the EE network has "no plans to change our pricing as a result of the EU referendum , including our roaming charges."
So, for the most part it appears to be a "wait and see" approach as to whether or not it's going to cost you more to use your phone abroad.
Source: Mirror UK
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