No More Roaming Fees In Europe

Last week, the European Parliament voted to abolish data roaming fees for Europe by Christmas of 2015. This new regulation also prohibits telecom corporations to manipulate internet traffic in favour of certain websites for special packages and marketing.

Image courtesy of: www.tap.info.tn

This new regulation will affect the 28 countries that are members of the European Union, namely Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Irelands, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and The United Kingdom. The parliament aims to have it passed into law by October 2014 and in full efect by December 2015.

What This Means For Expats

This development is favourable for consumers, mainly for expats within the European nations or those who live between the borders of Europe. Under this regulation, international data roaming charges will no longer apply to all mobile devices within the 28 members of the European Union. This will also benefit tourists as they will be able to buy a simple SIM card anywhere in the major cities of Europe and travel without worrying about expensive internet access as you travel across the continent.

Net neutrality also helps consumers gain more service for what they pay for. The web traffic will be the same for all websites and there will be no more priorities for web giants like Google and Netflix, which means that equal traffic will be available for whatever you need.

The expat consumers, one of the primary market for international data roaming will benefit greatly from this new regulation which is said to be the complete opposite of the policies in the United States where regulations favour corporations more than consumers. Data while on a business trip or simply travelling to and from home will now be easier and cheaper.

The Connected Continent

The European Parliament is aiming for a “Connected Continent”, uniting the European nations under the same telecom rules to promote simple, cheap and efficient communication. "This vote is the EU delivering for citizens. This is what the EU is all about – getting rid of barriers to make life easier and less expensive.” Said European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes.

“Nearly all of us depend on mobile and internet connections as part of our daily lives. We should know what we are buying, we should not be ripped-off, and we should have the opportunity to change our mind. Companies should have the chance to serve all of us, and this regulation makes it easier for them to do that. It’s win-win.” Continues Vice President Kroes on the European Union’s press release.

The union is also hoping to inspire the rest of the world to follow suit with this new development. While telecom corporations in Europe like ETNO already expressed their dismay about this upcoming regulation and many others in the industry have said that this is “a step in the wrong direction” most consumers in Europe have already expressed a positive response to this regulation and has taken to social media to promote this new regulation via hashtags such as #ConnectedContinent and #NetNeutrality.