EU to drop roaming charges on mobile phones

Using your mobile phone when you're away on holiday can cost a fortune, but EU officials are proposing to put a top to roaming charges, meaning that users would not be charged extra for making a receiving a call when they are abroad.

The Daily Mail reports that this could dramatically cut the phone bills of UK holidaymakers; a recent survey by uSwitch found that Britons typically spend an additional £120 on mobile calls when they're away from home.

A cap on charges has already been agreed and begins next month. From July 1, calls made by British travellers in the EU will cost a maximum of 20p a minute, and 6p per minute to receive one. Text messages will cost 7p each, and it will cost 38p to download 1MB of data. In addition, customers cannot be charged more than £43 in one billing period, over their normal monthly contract.

Ernest Doku from uSwitch said: "Around one in seven Brits arrive home from holiday to a massive phone bill due to the charges they have racked up on foreign turf. Scrapping all roaming charges in EU countries is a real win for consumers."

The Mirror reports that the move is backed by all 27 members of the European Commission, who voted to fast-track the legislation ahead of the European elections next May. This means that roaming charges could be scrapped altogether by summer 2014.

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