Brussels, 30/06/2014 (Agence Europe) -Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes has announced that, as of 1 July, roaming costs in Europe will be cut by up to 50%. She described these costs as “obsolete and outmoded” and promised that they would completely disappear by the end of 2015.
A new cap will therefore be applicable to roaming costs, down from 45 cents per megabyte to 20c/MB. Calls from abroad will cost 19 cents a minute HTVA (-21%), calls received, 5 cents HTVA (-28.5%), texts, 6 cents excluding VAT (-25%). In certain cases, prices will be reduced by half compared to current prices, which would constitute a fall of 80-90% compared to 2007 prices.
The commissioner welcomed the fact that certain operators were already offering prices below European caps and that, in six countries, roaming costs had already disappeared. She said that “the telecoms sector has finally understood the message”. She believes that, by the end of 2015, there will be no roaming costs and this will be regulated. In September of last year, the Commission put forward a regulation to this effect, the “connected continent”, as a means of guaranteeing a neutral and open internet and helping strengthen consumer rights in this area. The commissioner is hoping that an agreement will be reached between the European institutions before the end of the year: “Parliament has done its share of the work, it is now the turn of the member states to play their part!”
Although some have concerns about lost income having a negative impact on the competitiveness of telecommunications operators, Kroes thinks that this has no foundation and that roaming is negative and that the income generated from it had never been used for investment. She added that, if operators had to base their investment plans on roaming, it would be worrying. (MD)