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posted by mattie_p on Wednesday February 19 2014, @01:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the just-stay-home dept.

girlwhowaspluggedout writes:

"The European Commission reports that, fearing high roaming charges, many EU citizens forgo the use of their mobile phones outside their home country. According to a survey done by the Commission (pdf), when travelling to another EU country, 90% of all EU citizens limit their e-mail use, 47% do not use their mobile internet connection, 33% never place calls, 25% do not text, and a staggering 28% simply turn off their mobile phones.

Roaming charges, the Commission suggests, are hurting the fledgling EU app sector. In trying to avoid paying data premiums, travelers limit their use of data-heavy apps, like travel guides, maps, and photo applications. Frequent travelers are even more likely to turn-off their phones, perhaps due to being better informed about the costs of data roaming.

The Commission reports that data roaming use across the EU has increased by 1500% since the introduction of price caps in 2008. It suggests that by eliminating all roaming charges, mobile providers will gain a further 300 million customers. These findings give further support to regulations proposed by the Commission that will create a single mobile phone market throughout the EU, enabling all customers to enjoy domestic rates when travelling within the EU."

 
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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by TrumpetPower! on Wednesday February 19 2014, @02:12AM

    by TrumpetPower! (590) <ben@trumpetpower.com> on Wednesday February 19 2014, @02:12AM (#2086) Homepage

    Then what we -- or, rather, the industry -- needs to get out of this mess is somebody who knows game theory.

    It'd also be nice if there was some way, short of legislation, for "consumers" (a most hateful word) to band together to throw their own weight around. A consumers union, if you will, but more effective than the one run by Consumer Reports.

    b&

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