Down with roaming

last updated 8 January 2015

Brussels

The European Commission announced a plan this week to name and shame mobile phone companies that charge excessive roaming fees. Depending on where their mobile service is based, E.U. citizens are hit with enormously different roaming charges as they cross borders. British tourists in Italy, for example, are charged 50 percent more for mobile calls made there than French tourists. The E.U. executive body has set up a Web site listing the fee rates of all E.U. cell phone companies, so consumers can compare and contrast. The cheapest option, the site says, may often be to buy a temporary, “pay as you go” SIM card in the country you are visiting.