“Users have clearly no longer paid attention to their consumption abroad since the entry into force of the new European regulations, which has led them to exceed their fixed price in many cases for their traffic in Europe now billed as domestic traffic, “said Frederic Witmeur, CYC2 general manager. At the same time, “accidents outside Europe are also increasing”.

READ MORE: Abolition of Roaming Charges in EU Does Not Lead to Lower Costs. Here is why.

CYC2 gave an example: the big data firm based in Lasne says it has witnessed the case of a high-profile business from a well-known two-week business in Asia. On his return, the man had the bad surprise to receive a bill worth – 197,000 euros (17 euros of Mb, with a little more than 10 Gb consumed).  If the example is deliberately chosen for its vertiginous side, it is clear that it reflects a very real trend.

Approximately six months since the introduction of Roam Like At Home, which is the removal of roaming charges for European citizens as they travel outside their country of origin, the average cost of communications for businesses has jumped about 15%, says CYC2 based on the data of its six largest business customers, with several thousand SIM cards.

The average cost for these customers is 40 to 50 euros, an increase due to the impact of isolated cases and other accidents that can go unnoticed in a fleet of several thousand cards.

“In the end, all this is a good operation for the operators, because the customer bill will not go down,” concludes Frederic Witmeur.

Belgian telecommunications market roaming expenses Belgium

There are several key players in the Belgian telecommunications market, including the major mobile network operators Proximus, Orange Belgium, and BASE. These companies offer a range of mobile and fixed-line voice and data services, broadband internet, and television services, and compete for market share in the country.