[This article has been updated with the announcement of Virgin Media O2’s decision not to reimpose roaming charges]
The parent company of the Virgin Mobile and O2 mobile networks has said it will not reintroduce roaming charges in Europe this year for its UK customers.
The announcement from Virgin Media O2 comes days after Vodafone said it was delaying the reintroduction of its roaming charges for UK customers travelling in Europe by three weeks.
Gareth Turpin, chief commercial officer, mobile, at Virgin Media O2, said: “With Covid still scuppering plans and disrupting day to day routines for so many, we’re starting the year by giving our customers some certainty: we will not be reintroducing roaming fees in Europe.
“Unlike other mobile operators who made the decision to bring back charges from this month, we will not be following suit.
“Across both O2 and Virgin Mobile we’re maintaining our inclusive roaming so that our customers can travel to destinations all over Europe and use their data, calls and texts just as they would in the UK.”
Vodafone said it needs time for further testing and will now introduce the charges at the end of January.
A Vodafone statement says: “We have pushed back the introduction of roaming charges to the end of January, giving time for further testing to ensure the best possible experience for customers purchasing our £1 per day bundles. Until then, customers will continue to be able to roam without charges.”
Rival network EE has also pushed back its reintroduction of roaming charges until March 2022.
The company is also blaming “technical delays” for the resumption of charges, which were originally planned for January.
Three announced last year that it would be resuming the charges from late May.
European citizens travelling on the continent will continue to benefit from a “roam like at home” policy with new regulations, agreed by the European Parliament and Council, enabling them to continue to call, text and use data without extra costs, replacing the existing rules which expire at the end of June.