The European Parliament voted today (Tuesday 27 October) to abolish roaming charges across the EU.
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United Kingdom mobile phone users who travel within Europe will only have to pay the same prices as they would at home, curbing the cost of continued mobile connectivity while overseas.
The new rules aim to prevent consumers receiving huge bills after downloading films or other data while travelling in Europe.
This means access to a start-up website will not be unfairly slowed down to make way for bigger companies, the EC said.
However there has been controversy over the net neutrality component of the deal – with critics claiming the proposed rules would undermine the principle that all network traffic should be treated equally because they sanction “fast lanes” for so-called “specialized services with quality requirements”; allow network owners to offer zero rated services; and offer net neutrality exceptions, such as for congestion management.
The UK Independence Party tried to quash the plans by tabling an amendment to kill the package.
Under the complete ban from June 2017, if operators can prove they cannot recover their costs and that this affects domestic prices, they may be able to impose minimal surcharges in exceptional cases. And they will already pay less as from April 2016.
“This is not only about money, this is about bringing down barriers in the Digital Single Market”.
Mobile roaming: Charges will end within the European Union by mid-2017.
“These rules protect the right of every European to access the content of their choice, without interference or discrimination”.
It has been reported that this cap will make roaming about 75 per cent cheaper than it is now, before the charges are obliterated altogether in 2017.
Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder said: ‘The end of rip-off roaming fees is a massive win for British consumers.
Good news for tourists and business travellers alike: Those pesky roaming charges are about to become history (at least within the European Union).
“If price rises do follow, consumers can show their disapproval by moving to another network”.
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There’s nothing worse than heading off on holidays and coming home to an enormous bill thanks to roaming charges from using your mobile.
