MEP WELCOMES EU CAP ON INTERNET ROAMING CHARGES

12.00.00am GMT Tue 9th Mar 2010

A North East MEP has welcomed the introduction of a cut-off level on mobile internet roaming charges to protect customers from nasty "bill shocks" after they have been online when in another EU country.

As of this month, mobile telephone operators are required to offer consumers a spending limit on data roaming services while abroad, and are obliged to cut off customers' connections once the cost reaches the pre- agreed ceiling of the customer's choice. From July this year, a default limit of €50 (£45) will be introduced for customers who have not chosen their own limit. Customers will be sent a message once they have reached 80% of the limit.

Liberal Democrat MEP Fiona Hall, who has spoken out frequently against excessive roaming charges, said:

"From now on mobile companies will no longer get away with charging excessively for the downloading of data. I campaigned for this cap on data charges to be included in the scope of the EU roaming regulation.

"Last year we saw that phone companies were forced to reduce the cost of texting from abroad from around 40p to 11p and bring in a limit of one euro per megabyte, reducing to €0.80 per megabyte in July 2010.

"The further introduction this month of a voluntary cap on Internet roaming offers a real safety net for mobile phone users across Europe. The new regulation on data charges will put a stop to the nasty shocks that people have received when they return from holiday, open their bills and see they have been charged a small fortune. Once again, action at an EU level has greatly benefited the consumer."