Christmas next year ,will see double the celebrations because of the newly voted decision of the European Parliament to scrap the roaming fees for all phone calls done within the EU. Though the change is to take effect only from the 15th of December next year, it will bring smiles to the faces of many. Proposed under the various telecom reforms, this will make phone calls and internet data usage cost the same, in any EU country, as at home .
WHY THE NEED?
Recent years saw an increase in the telecom operator fees as a result of which consumers have been forced to pay huge sums.A survey conducted in February by the European commission showed that more than 90% of users in the EU had limited their internet usage because of the high costs of mobile roaming. Moreover the internet usage cap was lowered from 70 cents in 2012 to 45 cents. Neelie Kroes, the EU Commissioner for Digital Agenda, in favor of the users said,”consumers are fed up with being ripped off”.
With the increased amounts of internet usage and the advent of the 4G networks that provide even faster download speeds, this decision by the MEP’s will be a welcome change to all.