ROAMING PRICES REMAIN TOO HIGH DESPITE VODAFONE VERDICT

Posted by Alan Kelly on June 08, 2010 at 03:52 PM

I welcome today's European Court verdict on roaming charges but the cost of roaming across Europe is still too expensive for consumers.

EU efforts to regulate roaming have now proved to be fully deserved. 

This case highlights how the EU can stand up to corporate lobbyists and makes the right decision for consumers. 

The court has found that roaming is a vital component of EU internal market rules for phone use. 

Hopefully this will give legislators the incentive to reduce prices further. 

While I welcome this verdict, roaming prices continue to be far too high with consumers being charged up to five euro for a megabyte of information. 

Telecoms companies had been charging consumers up to five times more to roam than the natural cost of roaming should be. I consider that profiteering and it has now been partially eradicated by smart regulating in Europe. 

For too long consumers were being ripped off by unscrupulous phone companies who were taking advantage of consumer ignorance and lack of regulation. 

When I raised this in the internal market committee of the European parliament, there were people who did not want to keep roaming in place. 

However the highest court in Europe has now agreed with the principle behind reducing roaming fees and I look forward to working in Europe to maintain fair roaming prices for all consumers in Europe. 

Irish or European consumers should not tolerate being ripped off and the EU often presents the best opportunity to stand up to big businesses. 

I look forward to raising this in the parliament again and ensure that consumers get the best possible deal when it comes to roaming rates.

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