Cheaper EU roaming fees go into force on July 1
The latest round of reductions in the price of mobile roaming services in the European Union will enter into force on July 1, with the largest cuts coming to mobile data roaming, the European Commission has said.
“The latest price cuts put more money in your pocket for summer, and are a critical step towards getting rid of these premiums once and for all. This is good for both consumers and companies, because it takes fear out of the market, and it grows the market,” EC vice president Neelie Kroes said in a statement.
The new prices caps, which enter into force on 1st July 2013, are: downloading data or browsing the Internet – 45 cents/megabyte, charged per kilobyte used, + VAT (36 per cent reduction compared to 2012); making calls – 24 cents/minute + VAT (17 per cent reduction compared to 2012); receiving a call – seven cents/minute + VAT (12.5 per cent reduction compared to 2012); sending a text message – eight cents + VAT (11 per cent reduction compared to 2012).
This round of cuts will take the total EU-mandated price reduction across calls, SMS and data of over 80 per cent since 2007, the EC said.
For mobile data roaming, the prices in 2013 will be 91 per cent cheaper than in 2007. During this period the volume of the data roaming market has grown 630 per cent, the Commission said.
The biggest reduction will be seen in Croatia, which will join the EU as the bloc’s 28th member state on the same day that the new price caps go into effect.
“This year visitors to Croatia will enjoy spectacular savings as the cost for data decreases almost 15 times and sending a SMS or making a phone call elsewhere in the EU will be 10 times cheaper,” the EC said.
(Photo: Everson Silva/sxc.hu)
