From 1 January 2026, roaming in European Union countries becomes even more convenient. In fact, with the new year, the quantity of giga usable abroad without additional costs. What made the difference was the reduction of the maximum wholesale price cap provided for by the European regulation on roaming, i.e. Roaming like at home which will remain in force until 2032.
What will change will mainly be the cost of wholesale data, which drops significantly, but also the countries covered by EU roaming. Two new countries enter, but the United Kingdom definitively exits.
More Giga abroad: what changes from 2026
Big news for those traveling abroad from 2026 will concern the maximum wholesale cost of data, which from 1 January 2026 drops from 1.30 euros to 1.10 euros per giga (excluding VAT).
This is a technical step, but it has a very useful and concrete effect for all travellers: the more the wholesale cost drops, the more the amount of data traffic that operators must include free of charge in offers for abroad.
The reduction process began in 2022 and will end in 2027, when the definitive ceiling will be set at 1 euro per Giga.
In detail:
- in 2022 cost of 2.00 euros/giga;
- in 2023 cost of 1.80 euros/giga;
- in 2024 cost of 1.55 euros/giga;
- in 2025 cost of 1.30 euros/giga;
- in 2026 cost of 1.10 euros/giga;
- from 2027 to 2032: 1.00 euro/giga;
Instead they remain unchanged the wholesale ceilings for traditional communications, namely:
- for calls 0.019 euros per minute;
- for text messages 0.003 euros per message.
How to calculate the gigabytes included in roaming
From 1 January 2026 the formula to calculate the gigabytes available in the EU will be the following:
Giga in the EU with monthly cost of the offer excluding VAT/1.10 for 2.
In practice, for the same monthly fee, in 2026 you will be able to use more data abroad compared to 2025, without any price increase.
The updated list of countries covered by EU roaming
With the new year, Moldova and Ukraine also officially enter Like At Home Roaming, further expanding the area in which you can call, send SMS and surf “like at home”.
However, the United Kingdom definitively exits, now excluded from all the main Italian operators. The last one to remove it was iliad, a few days ago.
Roaming without surcharges will therefore be available from 2026 guaranteed in:
French Antilles, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, French Guiana, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mayotte, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Réunion, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Moldova and Ukraine.
The Swisshowever, remains a separate case, because inclusion is at the discretion of individual operators. Vodafone and I have. Mobile already includes it, while others such as iliad and WindTre provide dedicated offers.
