How much? Roaming call charges are three times higher than those for domestic calls.

Consumers International (CI) has reported that new rules are to come into force that will affect consumers who use mobile phones while travelling abroad. The new European Commission rules propose to change the face of Europe's telecommunications market and further reduce the roaming cost of calls, texts and, for the first time, data usage.

These rules would be applicable as of 1 July, 2012. The two major features are:

• Further caps on the retail price when roaming of voice call making and receiving; SMS; and a new cap for data roaming.
• An ambitious attempt to prompt market competition by ‘structural remedies’. A new system is envisaged where roaming services could be offered by companies other than the consumer's mobile phone provider. In practice, this is good news for consumers who could choose between separate roaming packages. More generally, this could lead to a decrease in prices for all consumers, as stronger pressure from competitors could encourage incumbents to lower their prices.

Monique Goyens, Director General of the European Consumers' Organisation BEUC, a CI member organisation, said:  "Roaming should not be a trap of travel in Europe. But too often it is, due to the potentially sky high costs and the dire lack of market choice. 72% of travellers still limit their roaming calls because of high charges which are still three times higher than domestically. It's unjustifiable that data roaming can be 50 times more expensive than when at home.  All evidence shows the European telecommunications market urgently needs more competition, to revise the way it operates and to be more open for new entrants. Currently, it's a closed shop.”

She concluded: "It's blindingly obvious that fair pricing is only possible when the lack of competition is solved. It's reassuring that the Commission is tackling the market's structural problems by introducing decoupling of roaming from domestic telecom subscriptions, and at last acting on the increasingly important issue of data roaming. The current cap of 90 cents per MB is a slow start. Consumers should not be ripped off for surfing the net abroad."

Consumers International is the world federation of consumer groups that, working together with its members, serves as the only independent and authoritative global voice for consumers.  It has over 220 member organisations in 115 countries with the aim of building a powerful international movement to help protect and empower consumers everywhere.