Yahoo - AFP, Katherine Haddon, 30 June 2015
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| The European Union currently caps roaming charges at 0.19 euros per minute for calls, 0.06 euros per SMS and 0.20 euros per megabyte of data (AFP Photo/Josep Lago) |
Brussels
(AFP) - The European Union said Tuesday it had struck a deal to abolish mobile
phone roaming charges in 2017, ending fees loathed by millions of holidaymakers
and business travellers across Europe.
The
agreement will end the frustration of EU citizens on holiday or business who
face steep charges for using their phones for calls and Internet browsing when
in the bloc but outside their home country.
Coming into
force on June 15, 2017, the deal means "you can use your mobile device
when travelling in the EU paying the same prices as at home," the European
Commission said in a statement.
"If
you pay for a monthly volume of minutes, SMS and data in your country, any
voice call, SMS and data session you make while travelling abroad in the EU
will be deducted from that as if you were at home, with no extra charges,"
it added.
The deal
was reached following wider discussions stretching back to 2013 in overnight
talks between the Latvian presidency of the EU and the European Parliament.
It still
needs formal approval by the bloc's parliament and 28 governments and was
described as "provisional".
"This
is the end of a long process and we're delighted we managed to produce a result
that will mean concrete improvement for citizens in the single market," European
Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters at a briefing in
Brussels.
British
Prime Minister David Cameron, who is in the process of negotiating EU reforms
ahead of a referendum on membership of the bloc, described the move as
"fantastic news".
But some
analysts questioned whether the major structural changes to the industry
necessary before roaming charges are actually abolished could be brought in
within two years.
"I'm
not convinced that 2017 is going to be the final date," said Dario
Talmesio, Europe practice leader at telecoms, media and IT research group Ovum.
"The
devil is in the detail about how to go about it. There's a lot that needs to be
clarified."
'Prices
may rise'
Before the
full deal comes into effect, data roaming charges will be slashed from April
2016 to 0.05 euros per minute for calls, 0.02 euros per SMS and 0.05 per
megabyte of data.
Under
current EU rules, the cap stands at 0.19 euros per minute for calls, 0.06 euros
per SMS and 0.20 euros per megabyte of data.
Providers
would still be allowed to apply a "fair use policy" to prevent
"abusive" use of roaming, the European Council said.
Talmesio
said that the detail of this would be key to determining how and when the
policy can be implemented.
Bert Van
Roosebeke, a political analyst from the Centre for European Policy think tank
said it was "possible that domestic prices rise" as telecoms
companies respond to the ruling.
A principle
of "net neutrality" is also being introduced under which operators
will be obliged to treat all traffic equally when providing Internet access
services and not impose any blocking or "throttling" -- slowing down
Internet traffic.
That is
designed to eliminate the paid prioritisation of traffic, subject to limited exemptions
such as countering cyber-attacks.
Providers
not respecting the rules face "significant pecuniary and administrative
sanctions," the Commission said.
The EU
wants to complete an overhaul of EU telecoms rules in 2016.
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