Moldova and Ukraine have been part of the EU roaming area since this year, with Bosnia and Herzegovina next in line.

Negotiations and actions are underway to enable Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with other Western Balkan countries, to become part of a unified European area where a single roaming regime applies—meaning phones and the internet can be used at the same prices anywhere in Europe as at home.

To recall, roaming is a mobile telephony service that allows the use of a phone (calls, SMS, and internet) when outside the network of one's operator, typically in another country or region.

Citizens traveling through the European Union can use their phones for calls, messages, and internet at the same price as at home. Since July 2022, additional rules have been introduced regarding service quality and protection against unexpected costs.

The roaming regime without extra charges automatically applies in all 27 EU member states, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, these rules do not apply to travel to the UK, although some operators have retained the same benefits for their users.

New rules, effective from July 1, 2022, stipulate that roaming users should receive a service quality similar to what they have at home, including internet speed and access to 5G networks where technically possible. Operators are required to inform users in advance if the service abroad differs from that of their home network.

Upon crossing a border, travelers automatically receive a message with basic roaming information, including any fair usage data limits and warnings about services that are not free, such as customer service lines or certain phone lines of airlines and insurance companies. Operators must alert users before they reach their consumption limit, as well as when additional costs reach 50 euros and then 100 euros within a single billing period.

Special attention is given to ships and airplanes, where phones may connect to unmonitored or non-terrestrial networks, such as satellite networks, which are not covered by the "roam like at home" rule and can incur high costs. In such cases, users must receive an automatic warning, and the service is automatically cut off when additional costs reach 50 euros or another predefined threshold.

The rules also cover access to emergency services. No later than June 2023, users arriving in another country should automatically receive information about the number 112 and available alternative ways to contact emergency services, including real-time text or applications.