Today, the European Parliament adopted the reform of the EU’s telecoms rules by establishing the European Electronic Communications Code and the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). This is part of the Digital Single Market strategy and builds upon the political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU as co-legislators in June 2018.
These are the details:
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The overall goal is to ensure that European citizens have access to affordable and efficient communications services and to promote connectivity through high capacity networks across the EU.
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Due to these new rules, consumers will benefit from lower prices for intra-EU calls from May 2019 on.
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Moreover, the reform encompasses stronger consumer protection for contracts regarding telephone, digital TV or internet access services. That is, consumers will be able to terminate their telecom contract as well as single parts of their service package early and without additional termination fees.
Monique Goyens, Director General of The European Consumer Organisation BEUC, commented on this: “It’s very good news that consumers will no longer have to worry about excessive costs when calling another EU country from home. This was the logical next step after the end of roaming charges. It does not make sense that you might pay less to call a friend who is in another country when you are roaming than if you made that call from home. Moreover, the upgrade of consumer rights in telecom services was badly needed: Telecom services regularly rank among the most complained-about markets. Thanks to these new rules, telecom clients will for instance be able to end their contract early if they want to switch to a more beneficial deal.”
Source: European Commission and BEUC
More information and BEUC press release