On July 15 the European Parliament's industry committee approved the deal reached between the Commission and the Council on when to end roaming charges in the EU. Pursuant to this agreement, as of next year prices for calling to/from abroad will drop and as of 15 June 2017 additional charges for cross-border phone calls or the use of internet abroad should be abolished. They "should" be abolished, since we've heard these promises before (MEPs say NO to roaming and YES to open internet). Check the table for details on what roaming charges are to look like in the coming two years. Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC, is less than enthusiastic about the reached agreement: "Today a deal has been drafted with a date to demolish the last digital borders of roaming charges. However, there is devil in the detail. The abolition of retail roaming prices by 2017 is dependent on a wholesale market review being completed, which promises to be a tough task. We cannot call it the end of roaming when there are built-in exceptions to allow providers to charge consumers when they go abroad if they fear it's too costly. It is critical that the EU and national governments observe the deadline and finally ban roaming" (see EU reaches unambitious deal on Roaming charges and Net Neutrality).Tuesday, 28 July 2015
The end to roaming charges as we know them... or is it?
On July 15 the European Parliament's industry committee approved the deal reached between the Commission and the Council on when to end roaming charges in the EU. Pursuant to this agreement, as of next year prices for calling to/from abroad will drop and as of 15 June 2017 additional charges for cross-border phone calls or the use of internet abroad should be abolished. They "should" be abolished, since we've heard these promises before (MEPs say NO to roaming and YES to open internet). Check the table for details on what roaming charges are to look like in the coming two years. Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC, is less than enthusiastic about the reached agreement: "Today a deal has been drafted with a date to demolish the last digital borders of roaming charges. However, there is devil in the detail. The abolition of retail roaming prices by 2017 is dependent on a wholesale market review being completed, which promises to be a tough task. We cannot call it the end of roaming when there are built-in exceptions to allow providers to charge consumers when they go abroad if they fear it's too costly. It is critical that the EU and national governments observe the deadline and finally ban roaming" (see EU reaches unambitious deal on Roaming charges and Net Neutrality).
