The European Union agreed to eliminate mobile phone roaming charges by June 2017.
The European Commission, in a statement on Tuesday, said it had finalized a deal to abolish roaming charges. The deal will save millions of vacationers and business travellers across the European Union from paying huge charges for using their cell phones for calls and internet browsing.
"When travelling in the EU, mobile phone users will pay the same price as at home, with no extra charges," the European Commission said in a press release. A transition phase will begin next year and starting April 2016 operators will be able to charge a small additional amount to domestic prices.
"For instance, if you pay for a monthly volume of minutes, SMS and data in your country, any voice call, SMS and data session you make while travelling abroad in the EU will be deducted from that volume as if you were at home, with no extra charges. This means the end of roaming charges as Europeans experience them today in their daily life," the Commission further explained in the press release.
The EU also agreed to establish stronger net neutrality rules protecting Europeans' access to the internet. "Strong net neutrality rules protecting the right of every European to access Internet content, without discrimination," the statement said.
But the deal struck on net neutrality will allow telecommunication companies to favor some services like internet TVs, according to BBC.
British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the deal saying, "It shows the EU can show the flexibility and creativity to deliver changes that benefit people in this country and across Europe," according to Canadian Press. Cameron has promised a referendum on his country's future in the EU before the end of 2017.
