Cheaper SMSs from abroad as of this summer
Maltese consumers who use their mobile phone while abroad to send text messages or seek information over the internet will see their bills slashed from this summer. This follows the approval of new rules by the European Parliament's Industry Committee...
Maltese consumers who use their mobile phone while abroad to send text messages or seek information over the internet will see their bills slashed from this summer.
This follows the approval of new rules by the European Parliament's Industry Committee forcing mobile network companies to lower their charges.
According to the rules, which have been approved by member states, sending SMSs from abroad should cost a maximum of €0.11 (plus VAT) per text message.
The EU average now stands at over €0.30 (plus VAT) while for Maltese consumers this depends on the network company. According to the Commission's data, Go Mobile customers are paying an average of €0.30 when texting from abroad while Vodafone clients are paying an average €0.35 per SMS.
MEPs also agreed with the Commission's proposals that data roaming services, such as sending e-mails, pictures or web-browsing from mobile phones or laptops, have to be regulated at wholesale level so that a price cap is set for the rates the host operator charges a roaming customer's home operator.
MEPs considered the €1 per megabyte price cap proposed by the Commission to be too high and lowered it to €0.50 per megabyte.
The EP's committee also backed a yearly cut of €0.03 in the maximum per-minute charge for voice roaming, calls sent or received abroad. This means that the maximum cost of making a call on a foreign network will drop to €0.43 per minute in August from the current €0.46.
The maximum cost of receiving a call on a foreign network would fall to €0.19 per minute, from €0.22. According to MEPs, roaming charges are to be calculated on a per-second basis from the first second of a call rather than after the 31st second as proposed by the Commission.
The new set of rules, which needs the approval of the EP plenary next month, are the second direct intervention by the EU to lower prices in the mobile telecoms industry.
In 2007, EU mobile operators were forced to reduce charges for making and receiving calls abroad (voice roaming) by 60 per cent.