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VIDEO: What will the data roaming changes mean for you?

2015-10-27 22:28:45| BBC News | Business | UK Edition

Extra costs of using a mobile phone in EU member countries are to be abolished, after MEPs agree a deal.

European Parliament approves net neutrality, end to roaming

2015-10-27 15:08:00| Telecompaper Headlines

(Telecompaper) The European Parliament has approved the Telecom Single Market legislation, opening the way to an end to roaming surcharges from mid-2017 and protection for net neutrality across the EU. The MEPs approved the text without any amendments to the legislation approved by the EU Council earlier this month, allowing the bill to become law after its publication in the Official Journal in the coming days. Under the new law, mobile operators will no longer be able to charge extra for calls, texts or data when roaming in the EU and EEA countries from 15 June 2017. The concept of 'roam like home' will be introduced gradually from 30 April 2016 already, when customers will pay the same as for national communications when roaming, plus a small surcharge. The surcharge will be capped at 5 cents per minute for calls, 2 cents per SMS and 5 cents per MB of data. Operators will still be able to add surcharges if they can prove they are unable to cover their costs or to avoid abuse, such as permanent use of cheaper foreign Sims. The new law also sets a common standard for net neutrality throughout the EU. Internet providers will be required to treat all traffic equally, with no blocking or slowing specific content, applications or services from selected senders or to selected receivers. The only exceptions allowed are compliance with court orders and laws, preventing network congestion and combating cyber-attacks. If such traffic management measures are needed, they must be "transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate" and may not last any longer than necessary. Operators may still offer "specialised" services, such as guaranteed speeds or quality for specific customers like businesses, as long as this does not impact the overall internet quality for all users on the network.

Tags: net end european parliament