End of ’roaming rip-off’ since the 1st March 2010
Since the 1st March 2010, new rules protect consumers from "bill shocks" by introducing a cut-off mechanism once the bill reaches €50, unless they choose another cut-off limit (recently, a German downloading a TV programme while roaming in France faced a bill of €46,000).
Holidaymakers and business travellers can also surf the web, download movies or send photos with their mobile without fear of ‘bill shocks’ while roaming thanks to a wholesale cap of € 1 per megabyte (MB) downloaded. The price per megabyte should decrease in the next years (0,80€ from 1st July 2010 and 0,50€ from 1st July 2011).
The EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding explains that “the Commission and national regulators will monitor data roaming charges very carefully and assess next year whether the roaming market is finally becoming competitive."
The new roaming rules, which build on the first EU Roaming Regulation (IP/07/870 ), will apply until summer 2012. The European Parliament and Council have asked the Commission to report on the new rules’ functioning by summer 2010. The Commission could then propose further rules, if required, by the end of June 2011.
Background:
For an overview of roaming tariffs by EU country, see the EU Roaming Website
