Roaming Costs to Fall
The new EU roaming rules come into play on July 1st 2009. Below is a quick overview of what this will mean for consumers.
- Sending a text message from abroad in the EU will cost a maximum 0.11 Euro, almost three times cheaper than the previous EU average of 0.28 Euro (excl. VAT).
- To make a roamed call in another EU country must not cost more than 0.43 Euro per minute, and no more than 0.19 Euro to receive a call.
- From the same date, outgoing roaming calls will be charged by the second, after the first 30 seconds, rather than by the minute, and incoming calls will be charged by the second from the first second.
The new rules will help to protect consumers from bills worthy of a heart attack by introducing a cut-off mechanism once the bill reaches 50 Euro (unless they choose another cut-off limit).
Recently, a gentleman from Germany downloaded a TV programme whilst roaming in France and faced a bill of 46,000 Euro upon his return.
Operators have until March 2010 to put this cut-off limit in place.
Newsletter
