The proposed Wholesale Roaming Guidelines will replace BEREC’s 2017 Guidelines on the wholesale roaming access obligations for mobile network operators (MNOs) and the rights of those seeking wholesale roaming access under Article 3 of the Roaming Regulation (531/2012/EU), as amended by Regulation (2015/2120/EU) and Regulation (2017/920/EU). Article 3 essentially provides that MNOs must meet all reasonable requests for wholesale roaming access, including direct wholesale roaming access and wholesale roaming resale access, and can only refuse requests on the basis of objective criteria.

Changes to the Guidelines are necessary to include the amendments introduced by the new Roaming Regulation (2022/612/EU).

Under the Roaming Regulation, BEREC is required to publish Guidelines on the application of Article 3 by 5 October 2022. BEREC stresses that the document is guidance only and does not represent an official legal interpretation of the Regulation. Nevertheless, it says, national regulatory authorities (NRAs) are required to take the guidance into account when resolving disputes or taking enforcement action in relation to Article 3. In particular, where NRAs make a decision that falls outside the Guidelines, they will be expected to give objective reasons for that decision. BEREC says that the Guidelines are complementary to its Retail Roaming Guidelines.

The consultation closes on 24 June 2022. To access the proposed Guidelines and for details on how to respond to the consultation, click here.