According to the consumers' association "Which?'" a lot of people that use smartphones abroad can get huge bills.
If you use a smartphone in your own country, to go on Facebook for example, you don't really need to worry about your bills. But if you do that abroad, you can pay a lot more.
Some say it can cost up to 8 pounds per megabyte downloaded and downloading one 10 minute movie + 5 music tracks can cost you up to 200 pounds.
Most people think they are safe if they don't download anything via their smartphones abroad, but they are wrong. Turning on your phone will cause it to connect with the internet, so if you get an e-mail you'll have to pay for it, if you try to search for the nearest restaurant, you'll pay.
I think those prices are ridiculous. Up to 8 pounds for 1mb is a lot. People easily download several megabytes when connected with the internet, so they'll have to pay a lot without them even knowing it.
I also don't see a reason why you have to pay a lot more for downloads than the people from that country. I think it's unfair.
The EU responds to the many angry reactions from customers and comes up with a new set of rules.
If you download anything fomr within the EU27 (+Switzerland), you'll be protected by a rule that will limit the bills you have to pay to a maximum of 50 euros. The limit is changeable, but you'll have to contact your phone company. People will be warned when they reach 80% of their limit, and they can't download anything once they reached it.
I think those rules are very good. It will stop people from getting huge phone bills. It's also nice that it gives a warning first, this means people know when to stop.
It would be better if it gave a warning at 30% and 50% of your limit. So people get an idea of how much they have to pay and how much they can still download.
A negative side is that the rules only apply to the EU27, so not in like Asia or Africa. It would be better if they had a worldwide rule for this problem.
Written by Dieter De Smet
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8576941.stm
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Thank you for warning us, Dieter. We will watch out when we use the internet applications of our smartphone, that’s for sure.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI'm glad to know that EU took measures to struggle the high smartphone bills.
I think that what liesbeth said is right!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenBecause a lot of people don't know how much it costs to surf on the internet on your smartphone. They think it's great and because it's new they use it too often for unnecessary things. And when they see their bill they're shocked. And even when you're not on the internet but your smartphone makes connection you have to pay for it. And £8 for 1Mb is way too much!
It's good that the EU takes care of it with that maximum bill of €50 so people know their amount they still can spend.