With the extension of the European roaming regulation by a further ten years, there is an innovation: Anyone who surfs the 5G network here can now also do so on vacation.
Stepping in July 1st New rules for roaming in mobile networks come into force in the European Union. This means that users in European mobile networks can also use the same quality of service as at home. Anyone who has a term or prepaid contract with 5G in their home country can also use the 5G networks in other European countries – provided the respective roaming partner of the network operator has one and it is also available at the holiday destination.
EU -Regulation since 2007
Roaming costs have been regulated within the EU for 15 years. Starting in 2007, the surcharges that network operators charge for making calls abroad were gradually reduced for EU citizens and completely abolished in 2017 for an initial period of five years. The EU has now extended this regulation by a further ten years. The EU countries also agreed with Parliament and the Commission that network operators abroad must offer the same level of quality as far as this is possible.
The three German network operators do not just have one roaming partner in many European countries. The expansion status and the 5G coverage of the various providers can therefore vary. The network operators offer details on the availability of 5G networks abroad on their websites, further information on 5G coverage can be found on the websites of the respective roaming partners.
Roaming partners of the network operators
The Deutsche Telekom reports a total of 63 roaming partners with which Telekom customers can access the 5G network in more than 40 countries worldwide, including all EU countries. Vodafone refers to 22 EU countries with 5G roaming, at O2 there are twelve EU countries so far.
In these EU countries, the German network operators have roaming partners with 5G networks (as of July 2022):
Deutsche Telekom Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Cyprus.
o2 (Telefónica) Belgium, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Slovakia, Spain, Czech Republic and Romania.
Vodafone Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus.
