New Euro roaming phone law comes into force tomorrow

The start of the Eurotariff roll out

29 June 2007 15:58 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

From tomorrow the new European law comes into force that, as the implications of the law are rolled out in varying stages up until the end of September, will significantly reduce the amount you have to pay to use your mobile phone abroad.

From the end of August a new Eurotariff will come into effect offering savings on what most consumers currently pay.

From September, a call anywhere in Europe under the Eurotariff will cost no more than 49c (approx 38 pence per minute inc VAT) per minute to make and 24c (about 19 pence per minute inc VAT) per minute to receive.

This means an average reduction in prices of more than 50% for most users.

The new law means that all mobile network operators in Europe have to stick a strict timetable to make the changes.

By the end of July, the operators must contact all of their customers to inform them of their tariff options and explain when the new Eurotariff will be made available.

By the end of August they should introduce the new tariff, both for new and existing customers.

By the end of September, they should transfer all customers to the Eurotariff automatically, except for those customers who have explicitly chosen another tariff.

From the end of September, operators must send an automatic SMS message whenever a customer crosses a border clearly explaining how much it will cost to make and receive a call in that country.

Some operators may chose to implement the Eurotariff ahead of the deadline, which means some of us could see cheaper calls for this year's summer hollies.