BEREC adopts Guidelines on Regulation (EU) No. 531/2012 (Retail Roaming Guidelines)

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has published its BEREC Guidelines on Regulation (EU) No. 531/2012 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2286.

From 15 June 2017 onwards roaming providers should not levy any additional surcharge to the domestic retail price on roaming customers in any Member State for any regulated roaming service subject to a Fair Use Policy (FUP). The BEREC Guidelines are designed to explain the Roaming Regulation (at retail level) including the Commission Implementing Regulation laying down detailed rules on the application of a “fair use policy”, the methodology for assessing the sustainability of the abolition of retail roaming surcharges and on the application to be submitted by a roaming provider for the purposes of that assessment. These Guidelines replace the BEREC Guidelines published in 2016 (BoR (16) 34) dealing mainly with the transitional period.

These Guidelines are complementary to the provisions set out in the Roaming Regulation and the Commission Implementing Regulation, and are not presented as an official legal interpretation of those provisions. NRAs are to take these BEREC Guidelines into utmost account when supervising the Roaming Regulation in their Member States.