Postponement of European Parliament vote on mobile roaming charges

With the European Parliament vote on mobile roaming charges postponed by two weeks as the three voting EU governing bodies cannot agree on a compromise deal, Chris Frost, Mobile Phone Expert at independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com, comments:

“It is very disappointing to learn that the European Parliament vote on mobile roaming charges, scheduled for tomorrow, has been postponed just because the three EU governing bodies cannot agree on a compromise deal. This latest move spells prolonged phone bill misery for the 18million holidaymakers planning to take their mobile abroad this summer.

“Using a mobile abroad is currently adding £230 million to holidaymakers’ phone bills, so the prospect of the new ruling coming into effect during the peak holiday period was welcome news for consumers. Not now it would appear, as the vote has been put back by two weeks to be heard at the next plenary session, which starts on 21st May. While it is still expected that caps will be put in place on roaming charges, by the time any changes do come into effect it is highly unlikely this summer’s holidaymakers will see the benefits in their wallets.

“Mobile companies have been able to get away with charging sky high prices for using mobiles abroad for too long. Now it seems the mobile operators have ‘won’ a three month delay from politicians, which would allow them to operate without caps during the lucrative summer periods. It is this three month timeframe during the busy holiday period which is likely to bring in a huge proportion of the operators’ roaming profits for the year. Mobiles are a necessity today so why should holidaymakers have to pay over the odds to use theirs abroad?”