  Andrew Duff MEPLiberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for East of England |
Local MEP welcomes deal on cheaper Mobile roaming
May 11, 2012 2:00 PM
Andrew Duff, Lib Dem MEP for the East of England, has welcomed a deal voted through the European Parliament to reduce roaming costs in Europe for businesspeople and tourists alike. Costs for calls and texts will reduce sharply from 1st July this year, when data costs are also to be capped for the first time at 59p per megabyte, with further reductions in later years.
Andrew Duff said: "This agreement provides a better deal for local residents flying to Europe from Luton, Stansted, Southend or Norwich. Whether accessing email from a Smartphone on a business trip or texting friends at home, and I welcome the new data cost price cap as a further way to end the roaming rip-off. Data costs will fall to 18p per megabyte by 2014, less than 5% of the price some operators currently charge."
Andrew added: "Very few MEPs chose not to back this measure, guess which?
The new deal will boost competition by allowing consumers from 2014 to chooses a different operator for roaming while keeping their number. Andrew Duff said, "Many consumers don't look at roaming charges when choosing a contract, and get drawn in by cheap domestic charges only to be royally ripped off when travelling abroad. The new option of choosing a different network when roaming will help consumers find the best deals. Until then, travellers can enjoy lower costs on their existing networks thanks to this agreement."
ENDS
Note to editors
|
Current Cap |
1st July 2012 |
1 July 2013 |
1 July 2014 |
|
|
Data (per MB) |
NONE |
59p |
38p |
18p |
|
Phone calls made (per min) |
35 cents |
24p |
20p |
16p |
|
Phone calls received (per min) |
9p |
7p |
7p |
4p |
|
SMS |
9p |
7p |
6p |
4p |