Connecting with family and friends through mobile phones won't be as expensive when travelling in the European Union this mid-2017 after the European Parliament formally approved cutting mobile roaming charges.
Mobile phone users will pay the same price to make calls, send text messages and use data wherever they are in the AU from June 15, 2017 as reported by Yahoo Travel.
Members of the European parliament have voted through new rules that will scrap mobile roaming charges and stop holidaymakers to the nightmare of a massive phone bill racked up on their travels.
U.K. mobile phone users who travel within Europe will only pay the same prices they would at home, curbing the cost of continued mobile connectivity while abroad.
Former vice-president of the European Commission and rapporteur for the Trade in Services Agreement, Viviane Reding said: 'After 10 years of tireless fight, roaming is over. A victory for consumers and a stepping stone towards a truly European digital single market.'
Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder said: 'The end of rip-off roaming fees is a massive win for British consumers. Driving down costs and making it easier to travel is what being in the EU is all about.'
The news was welcomed by campaigners, though some were cautious over some clauses that might limit the agreement's utility for all.
'Another cost cut for mobile use abroad by April 2016 is good news, but is still only a half-baked solution,' Monique Goyens, director general of the European Consumer Organisation, said.
Goyens added that allowing companies to limit roaming rights for frequent travellers is not the promised end of roaming in Europe. She said that there should be a telecom market reform.
The vote followed more than two years of negotiations and U-turns as the European parliament butted heads with EU member states concerned about the financial impact on their national telecoms groups.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
