Quantcast
Menu
Save, make, understand money

Household Bills

EU mobile internet users put off by sky-high roaming charges

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
17/02/2014

Almost half of European mobile phone customers dramatically limit their internet use when travelling to another EU country, because of high roaming charges, a study has found.

The European Commission survey found that 47% of EU citizens would never use mobile internet in another EU country and only 1 out of 10 would use e-mails in the same way as at home.

The poll of 28,000 EU citizens found that more than a quarter simply switched off their mobiles when they travel in the EU.

The Commission said there had been a 1500% increase in data roaming use across the EU since 2008 when it introduced price caps.

However, it calculated that telecoms companies are missing out on a market of around 300 million phone users because of current pricing strategies.

European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes said: “I am honestly shocked by these figures. It shows we have to finish the job and eliminate roaming charges. Consumers are limiting their phone use in extreme ways and this makes no sense for the companies either.”

“It’s not just a fight between holiday-makers and telecoms companies. Millions of businesses face extra costs because of roaming, and companies like app makers lose revenue too. Roaming makes no sense in a single market – it’s economic madness.”