Roaming Like at Home service for Ukrainian refugees in EU to be extended - ministry

MOSCOW. July 20 (Interfax) - The Roaming Like at Home cell phone service for Ukrainian refugees staying in European Union countries will be extended, Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation said.

"The joint statement of mobile operators of Ukraine and the European Union is being extended. Ukrainians who had to move to EU countries will be able to continue calling their relatives at Ukrainian operators' prices. The preliminary agreements were valid for three months. And from July, Ukrainians would have had to switch to European tariffs. However, the European Commission called on EU operators to extend this support for Ukrainians," Ukrainian media outlets quoted the Ministry of Digital Transformation as saying on social media.

Around 70 European operators are offering free roaming services to Ukrainians today, the ministry said. Ukraine's mobile operators supporting this statement are Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine and Lifecell.

The ministry also thanked the National Commission for State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequencies and the Provision of Postal Services, the European Commission and the Association of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for their efforts to enable Ukrainians in the EU to stay in touch with their families.

As reported, Ukrainian and EU mobile operators earlier signed a joint declaration on coordinated efforts to provide affordable and free-of-charge roaming services and international phone calls between the EU and Ukraine.

By the time of publication, the declaration had been signed by 27 telecoms operators from the EU and Ukraine, including several pan-European groups and an association representing a number of virtual mobile operators (MVNOs in Europe). The declaration is open to further signatories.