European Union member states have reached a preliminary deal to control roaming rates for mobile carriers operating within the EU.
Under the deal, carriers can charge a maximum of 49 euro cents (about C$0.75) for people to call home from another EU state, and charge up to 24 euro cents to receive a call. Under the European calling party pays scheme, incoming calls are usually free. Today, roaming charges can be as high as one euro, which doesn’t seem too outrageous, compared to cross border roaming in North America.
We see a couple implications, not the least of which is the demonstrated willingness of the EU to intervene in previously unregulated territory. Also, the question is whether new lower roaming rates may help remove the incentive for travellers to carry multiple SIM cards, in order to have local phone numbers in each country. This phenomenon has been cited as one of the explanations for European mobile penetration rates to commonly exceed 100%.
Will North American carriers take note and create more reasonable cross-border rates for occasional travellers?
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European Union, EU, roaming, mobile