Remember roaming
Consumers using a mobile network in the EU to access the net will no longer have to worry about accidentally running up massive bills from 1 July when the European Commission rolls out mandatory caps.
The new roaming rules will automatically set a data roaming limit at €50 excluding VAT unless a traveller has set a lower or higher limit. Operators will also have to send users a warning when they hit 80 percent of their bill limit.
Although the measures were previously announced on 1 March this year and consumers could opt-in to receive warnings, they will now be enforced in a new regulation which comes into force on 1 July. Once the customer's limit has been reached, operators will have to cut off the mobile internet connection unless a customer has requested otherwise.
Furthermore, in other good news for mobile travellers, maximum wholesale prices for data roaming have been set, falling from the current €1 per MB to 80 cents (and a predicted 50 cents next year.)
The highest price for making a roaming call will be cut to 39 cents per minute excluding VAT, from the current 43 cents. The cost of receiving a call will also be reduced from 19 cents to 15 cents excluding VAT.
According to the European Commission the cap will drastically reduce the cost of making and receiving calls when abroad in the EU. Compared with 2005 when it first began to tackle excessive roaming charges, such calls will be 73 percent cheaper.
Neelie Kroes, commission VP for the digital agenda, said: "There will be no more bill shocks for tourists or business travellers surfing the internet with smart phones or laptops while in another EU country.I am determined to make the EU's telecoms markets more competitive."
For years tales of woe for information-hungry travellers have plagued the telecoms industry; for example a German traveller downloading a TV programme whilst roaming on France in 2009 was hit by a whopping €46,000 bill!
The new regulation will also force operators to send customers a message informing them about the data roaming tariffs every time they enter another EU country, as another handy reminder about browsing the web abroad. You can see all the details of the EU telco rules and, of course, a healthy dollop of self-promotion, here.
