EU moves to cap mobile phone bills for internet surfers

Published on Monday 1 March 2010 20:32

NEW moves limiting mobile phone bills for surfing the internet have come into force – which could save customers suffering a heart-stopping moment when their bills arrive.

Customers can oblige mobile phone operators to cut them off when their surfing bill reaches a pre-set amount.

And if customers do not set their own spending limit, EU rules require the operator not to allow the bill to exceed 50 a month without warning the mobile phone user in advance.

The 50 limit runs until July, by which time the Commission hopes users will routinely be informing their service provider of their spending ceiling.

"This is very good news for customers," commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said yesterday. "From today, everyone has the right to set their own spending limit for surfing the net, so they don't get a horrible shock at the end of the month."

He went on: "This limit is individually set – it can be 20 or 2,000 . The idea is that, when 80 per cent of the cash limit has been reached, the operator will have to warn the customer of the approaching limit and that they will be cut off, unless that limit is changed, of course."

The commission says that if service providers do not honour the spending limit set by the customers, national authorities will impose sanctions on operators if they consider it necessary, to enforce the new rules.

Already charges for using mobiles when abroad have been slashed by 60 per cent.

Mr Todd said the effect of the net-surfing limits would be to cut prices too.

"It will encourage people to use mobile phones to surf, because they know they will not get any more horrible shocks," he added.

"And this measure is likely to bring down the cost of 'data roaming', because if people find they don't get much access to the internet for their money, the tendency will be to bring down prices."