EU proposes end to phone roaming fees

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s executive arm unveiled new plans recently aimed at ending costly mobile phone roaming charges next year after coming under fire from providers and consumer groups over its previous plan.

Unlike the previous proposals from the European Commission to cap roaming-free use at 90 days per year, the new plan would set no limits on time or the volume of data used. The new arrangements will be based on where phone-users live or an EU country that they regularly visit, like a neighboring state where they might work.

Providers who are broadly opposed to the end of roaming charges could take action if customers do far more roaming than domestic use. They fear that once the new plan takes hold, people might buy cheap services or SIM cards in another European country and then use them at home.

Consumer groups say that roaming calls within Europe can cost up to $2.23 per minute — about 20 times higher than the cost of mobile calls within the same country. Yet EU data suggest that it costs little more for phone companies to connect such calls.