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Comment by efdee | Hacker News Reader

What's the point? 5G is cheap in Europe, with no additional roaming costs between countries.

There is some difference in included data packages between home and EU-roaming, but, yeah, it feels like it's about 10 years late. FWIF, 10 years ago I saw much more of free public WiFi. One part why it changed surely is security reasons, the other is just that people don't really need it that much, I think. I definitely don't rely on it that much (I do sometimes, because far cellular networks are not always available).

IDK, maybe I would feel different if I used laptop on the go more, but I doubt it. Having a mobile phone seems to cover it now.

There should not be. The law specifically says there should not be a difference in home use vs EU-roaming.

I think you raise a good point though. I'm automatically suspicious of free WiFi.

You are misinterptreting the law. I won't recollect the specifics now, but I wouldn't bother to comment if I wouldn't know for a fact there is a difference in data packages. My current plan, for instance, is no-limit for a small subset of EU/EEA countries, and about 30 GB cap for the rest of EU/EEA.

No, the law explicitly carves out limitations for heavy users that phone operators can (but don't have to) implement.

Some do (especially those in markets with relatively cheap plans or large data allowances), others don't.

There are significant price differences across Europe, and as mentioned in other comments, EU roaming has some intentional carve-outs that make it hard to use permanently (it's primarily intended for travelers, not to arbitrage phone plans across EU countries).

Your comments here seem to be based on the assumption every country in Europe has plans like the one you have (€20/100GB). Those plans don't exist everywhere.

That is not relevant. I'm on the plan of my original service provider, regardless of whether or not that plan is offered at my current location.

You ask why do this when data is cheap. The problem is that data isn't cheap for everyone.

You have access to a nice plan - and that's good - but not all EU countries have nice plans and cheap prices. Someone in, say, Portugal doesn't have a local "100GB for €20" offer. They probably also can't get the same offer you can because your provider will ask them for a local address, a local bank account, there will be a different language, etc.

Most providers also have rules on how long you can use roaming for, so it's unlikely that you can just pick a plan from a French provider and use it in Germany (or multiple countries) for a year straight... For that you'll need a travelling eSIM or something like that, but is anyone offering a travelling eSIM with 100GB for €20 a month?

Essentially your mistake is assuming that everyone in Europe can get 100GB for €20. Some can, some can't. And that's the problem.

Cheaper definitely depends on the region. In Germany a decent 5G without throttle is extremely expensive.

With universal EU roaming, I usually just get an esim from outside Germany to use in Germany.

For one thing, that bypasses the German requirements regarding presenting a physical id in person to get cell service.

It’s possible that only works well for travelers though.

You'll need a travelling eSIM for that as plans from regular providers usually have restrictions on how long you can use them in roaming. The downside to this is that travelling eSIMs usually don't give you as much data as some local plans - at least in some markets.

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