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EU roaming tariff cap comes into force

Lucinda Beeman
Written By:
Lucinda Beeman
Posted:
Updated:
01/07/2014

From today, roaming charges will face further caps within the European Union, cutting the cost of data use in member states by more than half.

Maximum tariffs for data use will be slashed from €0.45 to €0.20 per megabyte from today.

The cost of making calls will be cut from €0.24 to €0.19 per minute, accepting incoming calls from €0.07 to €0.05 per minute and sending texts from €0.08 to €0.06 per SMS message.

This is the third instalment of price caps, which began in July 2012.

These price caps are the maximum that may charged, though operators are free to offer cheaper rates. Operators must send users a warning when they reach 80 per cent of their data-roaming bill limit and cut off mobile internet connection when it has been exceeded. Consumers can opt out of this limit which, according to uSwitch.com, could see Brits facing shock bills despite the cap.

In addition research by uSwitch.com found that many Brits are unsure which countries are in the EU – and thus covered by the new regulations – as 41 per cent of Brits wrongly believe Switzerland is an EU member state. Some 38 per cent mistakenly think Turkey is a member state.

Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch, said: “Brits need to add ‘check roaming charges’ to their pre-holiday to do lists. Talking to your network before you jet off will very likely spare you a big bill later, as they may be able to advise a bundle, or at the very least let you know how much it costs to use your phone abroad.”