MEPs have voted to scrap mobile phone roaming charges across Europe as part of major reforms to the telecoms market.
The new rules, which the European Council expects to be in place from December 2015, mobile phone users in the EU’s 28 nations will no longer have to pay inflated rates when using their devices abroad to make phone calls, send texts or surf the web.
The decision, which was passed in a sitting of the European Parliament earlier today, still requires approval from the EU council and individual national governments, but should pass easily thanks to major public backing for the new rules, with customers upset at having to pay premium rates when abroad.
"This vote is the EU delivering for citizens," said Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner for digital affairs.
"This is what the EU is all about – getting rid of barriers to make life easier and less expensive. We should know what we are buying, we should not be ripped-off, and we should have the opportunity to change our mind."
"Nearly all of us depend on mobile and internet connections as part of our daily lives," Kroes, who had been a major public backer of the new rules, continued. "We should know what we are buying, we should not be ripped-off, and we should have the opportunity to change our mind.
"Companies should have the chance to serve all of us, and this regulation makes it easier for them to do that. It’s win-win," she said.
The news is a blow to mobile network operators, who see roaming as a significant source of income, and who had protested keenly against a ban. A recent report by Juniper Research estimated valued operator revenues generated from mobile roaming at nearly $90bn by 2018, which will represent more than 8% of the global operator billed revenues by 2018.
Earlier this year, a European Commission poll showed that around 25% of European citizens switched off their mobile devices when travelling aboard, affecting not just personal enjoyment, but revenues for guide app developers and networks.
