New EU regulation introduces maximum charges for mobile data roaming

Annual savings of €1,000 per person estimated by the EU

Caps on pricing for mobile phone and data services across the European Union (EU) will save the typical business user more than €1,000 a year over the next 10 years, according to an EU report. The caps follow legislation passed by the European Council at the end of May.

From 1 July, the maximum amount a mobile data user can expect to pay throughout the EU is 29 euro cents per minute for making calls, eight cents per minute to receive calls, nine cents for a text message and 70 cents per megabyte for mobile data usage. All prices exclude VAT.

The legislation also allows individual phone providers to charge less than these maximum rates.

"Price caps on data mean we have roaming for the smartphone generation. This ends the roaming rip-offs once and for all in the EU. I am delighted that year after year the European Union is putting money back in the pockets of citizens," said European Commission vice-president Neelie Kroes.

The 1 July date also brought the addition of warning messages to users' mobile devices when they're about to pass €50 of data downloads, or a pre-agreed limit of their own choosing. A confirmation text will then have to be sent to inform the phone provider that the user is happy to exceed the limit.

The EU describes these measures as "the first in a series of progressively reducing price caps", which it hopes will lead to a system allowing for greater choice, competition and new roaming deals.

The Council plans eventually for travellers to be able to choose a roaming contract in a "similar way to the way they choose a Wi-Fi network", in the hope that a quick and easy ability to choose between schemes operated by a number of different operators will develop.