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MOBILE MATTERS: PLANNING A TRIP TO EUROPE?
By this time in July, the EU’s rules on data roaming will have come into force. That means no shock horror bills when you get back to blighty after a trip across the channel.
From July 1, operators will adhere to a standard cap, automatically cutting off European data roaming usage when it reaches a cost of €50 (unless you’ve already set a different limit).
The rules are designed to prevent so-called “bill shock”: when a mobile or 3G dongle user runs up a large bill by downloading or streaming data without realising how much it is costing.
European Commission VP for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, said in a statement: “There will be no more bill shocks for tourists or business travellers surfing the internet with smartphones or laptops while in another EU country.”
The EU cites an example last year when a German traveller downloaded a TV programme while roaming in France and came home to a bill in excess of £38,000. It said another recent example involved a UK student receiving a bill of some £7,600 for data roaming during a single month while studying abroad.
Operators will also be required to send users a warning when they have reached 80 per cent of their data roaming bill limit. The operator will then have to cut off the mobile internet connection once the user’s limit is reached, unless they have indicated they want to continue data roaming.
By the time you read this, the maximum wholesale prices for data roaming will also have changed, dropping from €1 to 80 euro cents per MB. Next year the price will fall further to 50 euro cents per MB, the EU said.
Meanwhile, the maximum price for making a roaming call will drop from 43 to 39 euro cents per minute. Receiving a call will cost a maximum of 15 cents per minute, instead of the current ceiling of 19 cents.
Receiving a voicemail while roaming will become free of charge but consumers will continue to be charged for listening to the voicemails received, the EU said. Prices for sending an SMS will remain at 11 euro cents per message.
