New Laws on reducing the cost of using your Mobile Phone Abroad must be in place by the summer says UUP MEP
UUP MEP Jim Nicholson has said that the EU must pass new laws on reducing mobile phone roaming charges before the summer holidays so that people from Northern Ireland can benefit from reduced tariffs when they are abroad.
Last night EU Member States and MEPs reached a preliminary deal on cutting mobile phone roaming charges, which would see the cost of calling home from another EU state set at a maximum of 49 euro cents (£0.34) and 24 cents (£0.16) to receive a call. These caps would drop a little in 2008, and more in 2009.
A vote is expected next Wednesday in the European Parliament, while EU telecommunication Ministers are due to consider the package on 7 June.
Speaking from Brussels Mr Nicholson said,
“It was important for the EU to get a grip on the spiralling cost of using your mobile phone abroad. I am sure that many people from Northern Ireland, whether they have been on holiday or on business, have been stung by huge mobile phone bills on their return.
“I hope that my fellow MEPs and European telecommunication Ministers formally back the compromise deal that was struck yesterday so that the new prices can come into force before the summer otherwise consumers will have to wait until the autumn.
“For far too long now mobile phone companies have been making excessive profits, at the consumer’s expense, on roaming charges. Such a vast difference in cost between domestic and international calls is unjustifiable and unacceptable in a single market. People already pay enough for their summer holidays and shouldn’t be hit with more high charges for using their mobile abroad.”