Savings to EU consumers from abolishing roaming charges

5.11.2015

Question for written answer E-014494-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Catherine Bearder (ALDE)

In the week beginning, 26 October 2015, Parliament gave its final approval to ending mobile roaming fees in the EU by July 2017. From April 2016, charges will be capped at EUR 0.05 per minute for calls, EUR 0.02 for text messages and EUR 0.05 per megabyte of data, around four times cheaper than current rates. Claims have been made that eliminating roaming charges will drive up domestic phone bills and penalise those who do not travel.

Could the Commission provide an estimate of the total savings to EU consumers from caps on roaming since they were introduced in 2009?

Could the Commission provide an estimate of what the annual savings to EU consumers will be once roaming charges are phased out altogether?

Could the Commission respond to claims that ending roaming charges will lead to an increase in domestic mobile prices?