European Parliament Committee OKs Abolition of Roaming as of Dec 2015

Photo by EPA/BGNES

The European Parliament's industry committee has approved legislation which envisages the abolition of roaming tariffs as of December 15, 2015.

Starting December 15, 2015, making a call or sending an email from a mobile phone abroad will cost the same as doing so at home, under legislation adopted by the European 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, according to the press office of the EP.

Since 2007 the EU has been gradually reducing roaming charges.

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.

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