YESTERDAY (Thursday) saw roaming charges finally dropped between EU and some EEA nations, meaning expats in Spain taking a trip home to the UK or Ireland, or holidaymakers travelling to Spain, are among those whose mobile bills will be no different when they cross the borders.
This does not apply to calls made from, for example, Spain to the UK on a mobile, which will still be charged as an international exchange, but will prevent travellers getting an unpleasant shock when they receive their bills upon their return home.
Even for general internet surfing and no calls, price hikes of up to 25% have applied, but for Brits downloading films and music or streaming whilst on holiday abroad, some have been hit with bills of between €500 and €1,000 for the month.
The 'Roam like at Home' plan will also make life easier for workers who travel abroad every day for their jobs – in many central European nations such as the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, employees do not have to emigrate to work, they simply commute, aided by the Schengen agreement which means they merely drive across the border without having to queue to show their passports.
The same applies to workers who live in Spain's far west and commute to Portugal for their jobs, or vice versa.
Ending roaming charges is something the European Commission has been pushing for over a very long time, since it considered this vital to creating a digital single market – but mobile phone operators have long fought against the EC, claiming it would lose money and would have to put its tariffs up at home to compensate.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com