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Vote clears final hurdle, paving way for end of retail roaming charges.
The European Parliament this week voted in favour of new caps on wholesale roaming fees, clearing the final hurdle on the way to finally scrapping retail roaming rates in the EU from 15 June.
"This is a great victory for European consumers," said EU rapporteur Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, in a statement.
On Thursday, the Parliament endorsed an informal deal reached between it, the European Commission, and the European Council in February.
Under the deal, wholesale roaming prices will be limited to €0.032 per minute for voice and €0.01 per SMS. Data will be capped at €7.70 per GB; the price will fall gradually over the next five years to €2.50 per GB by January 2022.
The wholesale cost of data had been the major sticking point in the process.
The Council initially proposed a cap of €10 per GB, falling to €5 per GB by mid-2021. That was higher than the Parliament’s proposal of €4 per GB, falling to €1 per GB. The Commission’s proposal sat in the middle at €8.50 per GB.
"We can now celebrate the fact that from 15 June on, there will be no more roaming fees. Users travelling in across Europe will be able to check emails, use maps, upload photos on the social media and text home without extra cost," Kumpala-Natri said.
