Tesco Mobile set to introduce EU roaming charges despite initial claims it wouldn’t
Tesco Mobile have announced they will introduce EU roaming charges from 2023 onwards as telecom giants grapple with a post-Brexit landscape.
The firm previously said it would not introduce these charges, and currently uses O2’s network but operated by retailer Tesco.
Customers who joined Tesco Mobile on or after 16 June 2022 will be charged for EU roaming beginning 1 January 2023, at 10p / MB for data and 55p / minute for calls.
Customers who joined before this date will continue to be able to roam for free.
As opposed to a formal press release, the company released this update on a ‘Home From Home’ page on its website.
A Tesco Mobile spokesperson told the i paper: “For the rest of the year all customers will continue to get free roaming in the EU and beyond, in 48 Home From Home destinations. We’re committed to providing our customers with great value, in a way that only a supermarket can. The 2023 changes allow us to invest in new offers for Tesco shoppers, at a time we know household budgets are under increasing pressure.”
The move contrasts to its operator’s model, O2, which has not added any EU roaming charges.
However, popular providers like EE and Vodafone have both smacked holiday-goers with fresh fees.
UK operators have been allowed to reintroduce roaming charges from January 2021 because the UK left the EU and the Brexit trade deal did not rule them out.