The EU on Wednesday scrapped a 90-day limit to its landmark free mobile phone roaming policy, promising checks to curb abuse after the initial plan ran into fierce criticism.

"We will not put any kind of limits on duration or, how many days (travellers) can enjoy no roaming surcharges, but we decided to put some clear safeguards on residency," EU Commissioner for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said at a news briefing.

The commission announced the original "free roaming" plans with huge fanfare in early 2015, but when it unveiled the details earlier this month consumer groups were outraged by a limit of 90 days of free roaming per year.