Eu Mobile Roaming Charges Scrapped

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40281013

About time !

An example of a good EU law perhaps ( ! )

[Old_Geezer]

I suspect that is is an example of poor law. It costs more to use your mobile in a foreign land. If the extra charge isn't levied on the person using the mobile it is covered by those not roaming, subsidising those who do.

If there is to be a price law is should be about preventing excess profits not ensuring cross subsidies.

[EDDIE51]

watch them renege on this as soon as we are out of the EU!

[Zacs-Master]

But from now on it doesn't cost more to use your phone in a foreign land. Charges aren't going up, so baffled as to how 'subsidies' comes into it (?).

[Old_Geezer]

The service supplier still has to connect the call and split the fee with the home connection supplier, the international network supplier and the foreign connection supplier. The cost doesn't just disappear because the charge has been reduced. So as none are charities the loss of income is made up by charging other customers. They subsidise those who can afford to go on holiday.

[youngmafbog]

Yes, you are quite right OG, nothing is for free despite Jeremy's rethoric. What will happen is the home users will pay one way or another.

I'm also not that sure how much value this is, it is only in the EU so those travelling outside of that will still have to pay. In addition how many people actually travel in the EU? Surely the vast majority could manage without their phone or use a WiFi connection.

[mikey4444]

Its been very little or no extra cost to a phone company however far away you call for many years. It really doesn't matter if the person you are calling is next door or hundreds of miles away. The same applies to Mobile calls.

The phone companies have been making money hand over fist for years. This is an all-round good move, and my comments about the EU were made in devilment !

[Garaman]

The numbers of Brits travelling to destinations in Europe are quite big - over 10 million trips to Spain, around the same to France. I think it is a good idea which makes it a facility for everyone and not just the well off.

[dannyk13]

E3 have been advertising on telly that they had already scrapped roaming charges.

[Ric.ror]

I imagine - like most things - when you are renewing your contract you will be offered the choice. If this is going to affect you unduly - choose a company that offers you the best deal

[youngmafbog]

Yes, it appears it will be on a contract basis. So I'm not entirely sure what has been achieved.

//Its been very little or no extra cost to a phone company however far away you call for many years. It really doesn't matter if the person you are calling is next door or hundreds of miles away.//

Not entirely true. Yes the electronic signal cost is little different but it has to go across other peoples networks each who have varying costs and of course exchange rates. It is not quite as simple as you think.

[anotheoldgit]

/// The European Commission said the end of roaming charges was one of the greatest successes of the
EU. ///

Surely that is nothing to brag about?

Now wait for that letter through the door, "We at ****** have introduced some advantages to our service, you will now enjoy free roaming within the EU, and free calls to certain 08 numbers"

"From July 2007 your monthly payment will increase by £1.50".

[Gromit]

When we leave the EU, the UK will not be covered by this legislation, so use it now while you can.

The there are no additional costs of using your phone abroad, the increased charges are purely artificial. The EU has banned this supplement charge, because it is a rip-off.

I doubt the British Government will impose ant similar restraints on the big mobile companies, because that they are against regulating business as muchh as they can.

[youngmafbog]

//there are no additional costs of using your phone abroad//

So all the phone companies abroad do it for free do they? Righto.

[Gromit]

YMB,
There are additional charges, but not additional costs.
Everyone uses the same equipment for the thing to be compatable with all mobile users. So it does not matter where your call goes, the infrastructure is global, so a call to your next door neighbour, or a call to a relative in Australia cost exactly the same to route. The charges for roaming are completely artificial and bogus, and bear no relation to any costs incurred.

[jno]

mikey, it was for exactly this kind of reason that I favoured staying in the EU. Britain alone could never have taken on the phone people over ripoff charges like this; only the EU is big enough to do so. Likewise only they will take on the big corporations like Microsoft and Google.