Phone roaming charges slashed again ahead of abolition

Irish mobile phone operators are under increasing pressure to reduce roaming charges in advance of an EU ruling that will make their abolition compulsory by June of next year.

From April 30, as the final part of a phased reduction in charges before total abolition, all mobile phone operators will only be permitted to charge a small additional amount on top of normal domestic fees when customers roam in the EU.

After more than a decade of promises, the EU reached an agreement in June of last year to end roaming charges across all 28 member states as of June 2017. Regulations introduced since 2007 have meant that roaming prices within the EU have been dropping consistently over the past few years. Prices for roaming calls, SMS and data have fallen by 80% since 2007.