EU parliament backs clampdown on roaming fees
The European Parliament on Thursday approved a clampdown on mobile network operators to protect consumers from paying excessive prices for using their phones and tablet computers abroad.
The legislature backed by a massive 578-10 margin, with 10 abstentions, a deal to make it cheaper to make phone calls, download emails or surf the Internet when abroad in other EU countries.
The caps on fees will take effect on July 1 at the start of the European summer holiday season when many holiday makers all too often were the unwitting victims of overspending on high roaming costs only to find out when the bill came in later. `'We have ended the rip-offs familiar to anyone who has used a mobile phone while travelling abroad," said EU Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes.
