Cheaper Roaming Services for Europeans

The European Union has decided to set the roaming fee at the same pricing structure for all member countries. This is meant to protect the interest of those that frequently use their mobile phones when traveling abroad.

"This is putting an end to the saga of excessive roaming charges", said E.U. Telecommunications Commissioner Viviane Reding considering the European Parliament's vote Wednesday.

The smaller roaming prices will be introduced starting August this year. Mobile operators will have the entire month of July to get accustomed to the new pricing structure. Moreover, they will have a choice whether to choose to apply the cheaper roaming prices or hold on to their current fees.

The European Commission considers that operators currently work with unusually high costs for their roaming services. After the roaming regulation will be applied, calls made abroad by consumers will drop as much as 70 percent. This means that roaming services might be available for a price as low as 0,3 euros a minute, far smaller than the previous charges.

"All of us agree the market requires rules and competition must be fair, and that wasn't the case of roaming, because the consumer had no choice", considers German Economy Minister Joachim Wuermeling. Moreover, "crossing the borders was used as leverage to generate higher prices, which was unacceptable". This is what the European Union tries to correct, as proof of the tight bonds and high communication need that are met between them.

On the other hand, mobile service operators do not unanimously approve the European Union's decision. "These price caps leave very little room for competition, for innovation, they will harm this market", stated said David Pringle, spokesman for the GSM Association of Europe's mobile phone operators.

More than 150 million mobile phone users will have to benefit from the European Union's decision of reducing roaming costs.