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End of roaming fees inches closer after MEPs agree new downward glide path on wholesale data roaming charges.
The end of roaming fees in the EU inched closer on Tuesday when the European Parliament agreed new limits on wholesale roaming rates.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) agreed a cap of €0.03 per minute on voice calls, €0.01 per text message, and a gradually decreasing cap on data, starting at €4 per GB, falling to €1 per GB.
The limits differ slightly from those put forward by the European Commission. In June, the Commission suggested wholesale roaming rate caps of €0.04 per minute for voice, and €8.50 per GB of data. The proposed cap on text messages was the same as the one agreed on Tuesday.
According to a Financial Times report over the weekend, some operators had been advocating for a higher wholesale data roaming rate of €10 per GB.
"Our position has a single aim: delivering ‘roam like at home’ to all Europeans. Setting price caps closer to [the] real cost of providing roaming access will do just that, but will also pave the way for a true gigabyte society by enabling markets to deliver higher data consumption," said Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, a Finnish MEP who steered the legislation through parliament.
The vote was carried by 53 votes for, five against, with two abstentations. The agreement will become law once it has been approved by the European Council.
