New European ‘roaming’ charges come into effect from tomorrow, 1st July 2009. These are the maximum capped rates agreed by the European Commission; individual networks can charge less if they wish.
Customers on standard mobile tariffs will pay no more than €0.11 excl. VAT (around 11p incl. VAT) for sending a text message while abroad in the EU. The maximum cost for making calls will be €0.43 (42p incl. VAT) per minute and receiving calls will be €0.19 per minute.
A cap on wholesale data charges of €1 per megabyte downloaded will also be implemented, although it’s not yet known how this will affect consumer pricing. For example, the 3 UK network charges £1.25 per MB - which it describes as "the lowest standard price of any UK network in Europe".
It’s important to note that customers who’ve chosen a special ‘roaming’ tariff option from their network – such as Vodafone Passport or Orange Favourite Countries – are excluded from the capped charges… and they only apply to countries that are members of the European Union. [EU journal; EC press release; 3 UK press release]