From a call with a range of a few city blocks to a seamless Digital Single Market.📱
While on this day in 1973, M. Cooper made history by initiating the first cell call, Europe’s GSM standard marked the global revolution that digitised mobile tech.
Since 2017, the EU’s ‘Roam Like at Home’ has transformed international connectivity:
🔸€0 extra for data, calls, texts
🔸Seamless 5G
🔸No unexpected charges on boats
🔸As of 2026, includes Ukraine and Moldova
Free for you. Fair for operators.
Decisions to leave, and decisions to join both have consequences.
If you are "disappointed" by that, the #EU is the wrong addressee for your complaints.
Thankfully, some networks (such as O2 and giffgaff) still provide inclusive EU roaming, while the main providers (EE, Three UK, and Vodafone UK) retain inclusive roaming for the Republic of Ireland because of the Common Travel Area and inadvertent roaming issues.
The current UK Labour Government has ruled out rejoining the Single Market and Customs Union, in accordance with their 2024 election manifesto. However, the UK government is calling for a closer partnership with the EU due to the current geopolitical situation. Things will get interesting in due course.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62l6w03lwzo
"The current UK Labour Government has ruled out rejoining the Single Market and Customs Union"? 😂
I can assure you most EU citizens are ruling that out for at least 2 decades, too.
We wouldn't be in our right minds to re-invite cherrypickers that consider the EU primarily a "Single Market and Customs Union", from which to extract as many membership benefits as possible, with as many exceptions as possible regarding membership obligations – just because they "noticed" their beloved Brexit didn't go as promised.
The exhausting post-2016 Brexit negotiations, burning and wasting political energy that would have been sorely needed elsewhere, have left a lasting impression. No thanks!
European Commission
CLondoner92 (New Account)
katzenberger