Roaming charges are nasty things, and you often don’t know just how high they are until you receive the bill later. In a bid to lessen that shock, and also stop mobile network operators making excessive profits, EU telecoms ministers have voted in favour of proposals that will cap mobile roaming charges. They will come into force next July.
Under the new laws, there will be an upper charge of 13 cents on sending text messages, much lower than the current average of 36 cents. Network operators will be allowed to charge each other no more than $1.27 per megabyte for downloading data. Finally, connections can be cut off if the bill exceeds $62, the BBC reports.
Unsurprisingly, the GSM Association, which represents mobile operators, wasn’t thrilled with the new ruling. A spokesman said:
"In the current economic climate governments should be working to encourage investments."
"The biggest concern is extending the use of retail price regulation which is a very extreme step and could deter investment in new services."
The proposals will now go to the European Parliament, but are expected to pass easily.
