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Podcast: EU&U Podcast
Episode:

EU Pushes Forward With New Benefits For Consumers
Category: Government & Organizations
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2018-11-26 11:14:49
Description:

Good Guy EU Helps Reduce Cost of Communications Among Member States and Makes Emergency Calling Systems Mandatory for All Smartphone Manufacturers

Nikolas Zubizarreta-Madrid-11/26/2018

The European Parliament is working to bring more benefits in the telecommunications market for consumers in the EU. The Changes are expected to go through by May 2019.

This has been expected for some time. After the widely publicized elimination of roaming costs, European consumers are being guaranteed increased protection from price discrimination by national telecommunication companies.

You might recall that the elimination of roaming costs in the Union was approved in 2016, but it was not until last week that a maximum price of 19 cents/min and  6 cents/message was established.

Other major changes guarantee the right to a refund on prepaid phone cards if they are not consumed, as well as a more secure handling of user data with regards to VOIP and Instant Messaging services like  Whatsapp or Skype.

Europeans will have 5G connection in 2020 as the European Parliament is advocating adoption in Member States before that date. The EP is pushing for phone manufacturers to include an emergency calling system in all devices. This is another step forward by EU institutions to make access to emergency services more accessible for any member of the EU. This service ties together well with the European Emergency Number 112 which although implemented in 1992, is still widely unused in Europe with only 22% of Europeans being aware of its international validity.

These new measures by the European Parliament aim at protecting European consumers and facilitate communications between Member States and they signal a concrete way to progress and adapt European legislation to society. Hopefully the EU can continue to support consumers in the near future. What are some of the things you think the EU could implement concerning telecommunications?

Let us know in the comments!

 

 

 
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