Roaming Data Costs in EU to be Slashed

The average cost of using smartphones and tablets in the EU is to be more than halved under plans from Brussels to introduce price caps.

The EU wants to abolish premium charges for roaming data services – and is set to extend caps on mobile phone call roaming charges for a further four years to 2016.

It will be announced that from next year new price caps will be imposed on data downloads.

Surfing the internet or receiving emails while abroad will cost no more than 81p per megabyte from July 2012, falling to around 40p by 2014, compared with a current average of around £1.80.

It comes after an EU directive was introduced to force down the cost of making and receiving mobile phone calls while in Europe.

The proposals are part of a series of measures by Neelie Kroes, the EU commissioner responsible for telecommunications, to cut down on roaming charges by 2015.

Operators had hoped that special offers on roaming tariffs, including day passes and passport deals for offers while in other countries, would be enough to convince Brussels to drop price controls.

They were originally due to expire next July, five years after they were imposed despite industry objections.

Source: Sky News

Posted by: James