The proposal made by the European Commission is aimed at reducing mobile phone costs when making calls, sending texts and browsing the internet anywhere in the EU. With the intention of making it the same price as it costs when at home. The EC have stated that it costs roughly 2 per megabyte to download when abroad without any current maximum cap set. To make a call it is currently 31p per minute and 10p per minute to receive a call.
The proposed plans if agreed the will come into force in 2014, and set a maximum cap to data charges set at 45p for data per megabyte. Calling will be reduced to 22p when making a call and 9p when receiving a call per minute.
A spokes from Firstnumber (http://www.firstnumber.co.uk) has stated that this proposal is long over due and consumers have been charged at an unreasonable rate for too long. These plans help match what consumers expect to pay and will hopefully increase competition and choice within the market, whilst helping to create better offers for consumers.
The Firstnumber spokesperson also went on to suggested it’s important that cheap international calls are made even more readily available to everyone and that it doesn’t stop with this proposal.
The proposal includes the recommendation that mobile customers will be able to opt for a separate cheaper mobile contract that will allow for cheaper roaming costs and will use the same number and SIM card.
Firstnumber advises all users before going on holiday to remember the following tips that may help you from being caught out – Start by using Wi-Fi wherever possible, as there will be many hotspots within all major cities, secondly, try short texts to help stay in touch and forget about worrying for every minute on the phone. Lastly, check before leaving for a holiday with the phone operator and make sure of all the data charges and price to call.