On 1 July the “Roam Like at Home” regime in the Western Balkans entered into force. Western Balkan countries launched on Thursday free roaming for all mobile phone users within the region as a first step of regional cooperation in their path toward joining the European Union family.
This is a historic achievement of cooperation amongst the telecom Ministries and Independent Regulators of the region, supported by the European Commission and facilitated by the Regional Cooperation Council,
Majlinda Bregu, RCC Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) called this day a historic day for the region.
“We are eliminating barriers, borders, and mobile phone roaming tariffs. It is just the first step. What the RCC has succeeded in doing with mobile phones, we hope to do with people and businesses in the Balkans. We are working hard on opening borders, eliminating tariffs, increasing trade, and making it so not just for mobile phones, but also for people so they can travel and work without restrictions. Tomorrow we will be much closer to our common regional goals.” -stated the Secretary General in her speech.
In 2019, the Western Balkan leaders signed the Regional Roaming Agreement in Belgrade and committed to eliminating roaming charges within the region, in a bid to improve connectivity and bring tangible benefits of the regional agenda to the citizens and businesses alike. The first phase of the implementation, introduced on 1 July 2019, gradually reduced the roaming charges by over 80%, and has led to a significant increase in data traffic in the entire Western Balkan region. This marks also a step towards the digital transformation of the region, a process which has been supported by The European Commission and the Body of European Regulators, BEREC.
