Roaming charges cut within EU
Anyone using their mobile phone within the EU will find that roaming costs have been cut again.
In addition, there will be further caps coming into place within all EU countries to keep costs down, and as of June next year, the roaming charges will come to an end. The savings for UK consumers will amount to millions of pounds with the latest round of cuts.
The minister for the digital economy, Ed Vaizey, has said that the cost of roaming charges for Britons abroad is currently around £350 million each year. Roaming charges are applied on top of standard call charges, and if the call is only a short one, it can work out to be most of the cost.
Those who download data will see the biggest cut in fees, with a drop of around 75%. The cut is very similar for those making outgoing phone calls. The cost of texting will be cut by around 66%.
However, as some providers include the roaming charges as part of a special package, their consumer may not see a reduction. O2 has confirmed that there will be reductions for most of its customers, but EE has said that most of its customers will not be affected by the changes. Free roaming for Three customers is already available in a small number of countries.
A question has been raised about what will happen if the UK leaves the EU, as the caps may not apply then. The caps on charges are part of a regulation rather than a directive, so they are not automatically part of UK law.