Because it has taken them a ridiculously long time. Note that these regulations have been phased in for the last 10 years after the Commission first gave the industry about two years warning that they were unhappy about the situation. In those 10 years, the limits have steadily been dropped, yet most providers have avoid to the last day to drop their rates ahead of the regulation.
These regulations have been reviewed several times, with the intent of seeing if the industry had changed behaviour enough to justify letting the rules expire. Time limits were extended several times. Each time the providers under-delivered on what the Commission was looking for.
In other words: They've had 12 years. They've consistently dragged their feet, because they know that while it is a material issue when getting a subscription for a small portion of frequent travellers, most people do not keep close track of large portion of their yearly cost is down to that vacation (on average) many months ago when it comes time to renew.
Secondly because the EU sees this as a barrier to effective competition between businesses in different member states, and eliminating those barriers is a major portion of the justification for its existence.
But they were effective from the start. EU roaming was already cheap in the last years whereas going to the US with a European data plan reminds you what roaming can really cost (some exceptions apply).
It's great that it's free now but the caps were already quite effective before.
These regulations have been reviewed several times, with the intent of seeing if the industry had changed behaviour enough to justify letting the rules expire. Time limits were extended several times. Each time the providers under-delivered on what the Commission was looking for.
In other words: They've had 12 years. They've consistently dragged their feet, because they know that while it is a material issue when getting a subscription for a small portion of frequent travellers, most people do not keep close track of large portion of their yearly cost is down to that vacation (on average) many months ago when it comes time to renew.
Secondly because the EU sees this as a barrier to effective competition between businesses in different member states, and eliminating those barriers is a major portion of the justification for its existence.