Brussels - Cheaper charges for using your mobile phone while abroad come into force across the European Union on Wednesday. Proposed by the European Commission, the new rules bring down the maximum price of making a call while roaming from 0.46 euros (0.65 dollars) to 0.43 euros per minute, excluding Value Added Tax. The cap on the cost of receiving a call while in another EU member state falls from 0.22 to 0.19 euros.
A new "Euro-SMS tariff" limiting the price that consumers can be charged for sending a Short Message Service to 0.11 euros also comes into force.
Moreover, the wholesale cost of surfing the web while abroad is capped at 1 euro per megabyte downloaded.
Consumers will also be shielded from so-called "bill shocks" caused by excessive downloading thanks to a new cut-off mechanism once their bill reaches 50 euros - unless the consumer opts for a different limit.
The new rules are set to benefit millions of citizens who either work or go on holiday in a different EU member state.
According to a deal reached with the European Parliament in April, roaming charges are to fall further between now and 2011.
