MEPs back lower mobile roaming charges (Barking and Dagenham Borough Liberal Democrats)

Barking and Dagenham Borough Liberal Democrats <barkinganddagenham@libdems4london.org.uk>

MEPs back lower mobile roaming charges

March 11, 2009 10:50 AM
Originally published by Sarah Ludford MEP

MEPs on the European Parliament's industry committee have backed further reductions in mobile-phone roaming charges, through extending controls on voice roaming and widening the scope to SMS roaming and also data services. Regulation would be extended until 2012, with the possibility of further extension.

Liberal Democrat MEP for London Sarah Ludford said:

"This vote is the result of hard work by the report's Liberal Democrat author. Liberal Democrats in Brussels are once again standing up for consumer rights at this 'credit crunch' time when cutting costs and saving money has never been more important."

"The cost for a UK consumer of sending a text message when abroad is often much higher than the cost to a Continental user. This scandalous levy highlights the vast difference between the cost to the operator and the outlandish charges the consumer is being forced to pay."

"The regulation of data charges should put a stop to the nasty shocks that people receive when they return from holiday, open their bills and see they have been charged a fortune. Mobile companies ought anyway to offer cut-off limits to stop the danger of charges silently mounting up."