MEPs call it a day on roaming charges | WPN World People News

Making a call or sending an email from a mobile phone abroad will cost the same as doing so at home starting 15 December 2015, under legislation adopted by the Parliament's industry committee on 18 March. Before the new rules can enter into force, they will still need to be approved by both the European Parliament and the Council. Since 2007 the EU has been gradually reducing roaming charges.

Roaming price caps as expressed in eurocents per minute, per text message (SMS) and per megabyte. → means outgoing call, ← means incoming call. VAT is not included, while 2014 caps will apply from 1 July.

Thanks to EU legislation, consumers have seen the roaming costs of calls and text messages drop by 80%, while data roaming is now up to 91% cheaper than back in 2007. Despite this, 28% of travellers in the EU still switch off their phones abroad to avoid roaming charges, according to a survey by the European Commission.

The chart shows how much roaming price caps set by the EU have changed since they were first introduced.

Source: European Parliament