Traveling in Europe next month? You’ll be able to use your smartphone abroad without running into ridiculous roaming charges from July 1st, thanks to a ruling from the European Union. The bill, passed by the European Commission, includes a big reduction to mobile data prices, as well as a slight reduction in the cost of sending and receiving calls and text messages.
Data sees the largest improvement, with the maximum price allowable by law being reduced from ¢45 to ¢20 per megabyte. Voice calls you make move from ¢24 to ¢19, while voice calls you receive go from ¢7 to ¢5. Text messages are also cheaper to send, with the price going from ¢8 to ¢6.
All prices are in Euro cents. In pence, maximum charges will be 16p per megabyte for data, 15p per minute for calls made, 4p for calls received and 5p for text messages sent.
Mobile operators in Europe will also be able to offer roaming deals before you set out, allowing you to easily pick a mobile provider that’s local to the country you’re visiting.
Things will get even better next year, as the European Parliament has voted to eliminate roaming fees for data and phone calls. That means costs will be the same as your home country, finally allowing free use of your smartphone while travelling within Europe. This new law takes effect from December 15th, 2015.
What do you think of the changes? Will it make it more likely for you to use your phone abroad? Let us know in the comments below.