BRUSSELS
The European Union agreed on Tuesday to end roaming charges for people travelling across the 28-nation bloc.
The decision, which allows people who use their mobile device while travelling within the EU to pay the same price they pay at home, will come into effect on June 15, 2017.
Andrus Ansip, Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, said in a statement on Tuesday: "Europeans have been calling and waiting for the end of roaming charges as well as for net neutrality rules. They have been heard."
Net neutrality means that every type Internet traffic should be handled with the same level of service. However, the EU measures will allow telecoms groups to offer faster connections for specialised services, for example, for streamed video.
The European Commission has been working to reduce roaming charges within the EU for a decade and the prices for text messages and roaming calls have fallen by 80 percent since 2007, according to the European Commission.
"Our plans to make it happen were fully endorsed by heads of state and governments last week, and we should move faster than ever on this," Ansip added in the statement.
Gunther H. Oettinger, Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, said in a statement on Tuesday: "I welcome today's crucial agreement to finally end roaming charges and establish pragmatic net neutrality rules throughout the EU."
"Both are essential for consumers and businesses in today’s European digital economy and society. We will build on these important foundations in our forthcoming review of the EU's telecoms legislation," Oettinger said.
