EU looks to end roaming charges. Finally.

[pampango]

If I don't need to go through customs upon landing in Berlin or Brussels from Paris, why should my phone?

But in Europe, where a currency is shared and borders are open, I made the logical, if mistaken, assumption that cell phone service is open too. If I don't need to go through customs upon landing in Berlin or Brussels from Paris, why should my phone

Soon it might not. Mr. Barroso said in Strasbourg Wednesday that he supports a plan that phases out roaming fees starting in 2014.

European authorities have already “dramatically brought down roaming costs,” he said, according to the New York Times, but the new plan would further “lower prices for consumers and present new opportunities for companies.”

The proposal is not without controversy. According to the Times, the industry has already been subject to many caps since 2007 on roaming charges, which comprise a big part of company profits. ... It would cap cross-border calls at the same cost as long-distance domestic calls, according to Reuters, and limit the price for making calls while traveling in Europe to 18 cents. There would be no charges for receiving calls.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2013/0912/EU-looks-to-end-roaming-charges.-Finally

Something tells me that Europeans will get a continent-wide phase-out of roaming fees before Americans do.

"European authorities have already 'dramatically brought down roaming costs' ... which comprise a big part of company profits."

Sounds like telecommunications lobbyists aren't as effective in the EU as they are in the US.

[Democracyinkind]

1. In all fairness, it was a very profitable scam as long as it lasted.

The story also proves that with some industries, there simply is no reasoning. If you want to put an end to such practices, it takes a heavy dose of socialism (state price fixing - the horror!1!!1!!). European com companies had every chance to negotiate a more favorable deal, and yet they refused, betting on the hope that their lobbyists would be able to take care of the matter.