EP: Roaming Charges

You are more than likely familiar with roaming charges if you had travelled outside Ireland or up North before mid-2017. You start getting charged for your internet data and even for receiving a text. Well, thankfully they are now a thing of the past.

You now pay the same price for calls, texts and mobile data wherever you are travelling in the EU. Calling a friend when you are at home or in another EU country won't make a difference to your bill.

The European Commission made this neat infographic with all you need to know really!

The Telecoms Single Market Regulation (from the Industry Committee) put an end to roaming charges in mid-2017 and guaranteed an open market.

From 30 April 2016, roaming surcharges cannot exceed 5c per minute for voice calls, 2c for text messages or 5c per megabyte of mobile internet use.

How did we get to this point?

The EU has been reducing roaming charges since 2007 and Parliament has repeatedly asked for them to be scrapped altogether.

Here’s a quick recap: 

• 2007: The “Eurotariff” capped maximum prices for phone calls made and received while abroad. These maximum prices apply to all consumers, unless they opt for special packages offered by operators.
• 2013: The European Commission adopted a legislative package for a "Connected Continent: Building a Telecoms Single Market" aimed at building a connected, competitive continent and enabling sustainable digital jobs and industries.
• 2015: The European Parliament's plenary voted in favour to end roaming charges by June 2017.