Neelie Kroes announced today that a new price cap on roaming charges, which will take effect July 1st, will cut roaming by 36% across Europe, with countries like Croatia seeing as much as a 93% reduction (15 times cheaper). This comes as part of a greater effort by Neelie and the European Commission to make data and phone calls more accessible across Europe.
In the official press release, Kroes states that between 2007 and 2013, data roaming has grown by 650%, and, as of July 1st 2013, prices will be 91% cheaper than in 2007. The following price caps will take effect across the EU:
- Downloading data or browsing the Internet – 45 cents / Megabyte (MB) (charged per Kilobyte used) + VAT. (36% reduction compared to 2012)
- Making calls – 24 cents / minute + VAT (17% reduction compared to 2012)
- Receiving a call – 7 cents / minute + VAT (12.5% reduction compared to 2012)
- Sending a text message – 8 cents + VAT (11% reduction compared to 2012)
The European Commission stated that operators are, of course, able to offer lower prices, and mentioned that some companies have even taken to eliminating roaming altogether.