Mobile phone roaming charges have dropped across the European Union with new tariff regulations coming into force.
Making a call abroad will now cost only 0.39 (33p) a minute, receiving a call will cost 0.15 (13p) and charges for sending a text will be 0.11 (9p).
The directive, based on the first EU Roaming Regulation, will last until summer 2012.
The European Commission said that new rule will impose per-second billing after 30 seconds for roaming calls made when abroad, and from the first second for calls received abroad.
In addition, a cut-off mechanism has been been introduced once the bill reaches 50 (£42) to avoid "bill shocks".
Plus there is a cutback in data charges, with a new wholesale cap of 1 (85p) per megabyte, falling to 0.80 (68p) in 2010 and 0.50 (43p) in 2011.
EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding said: "From today, all Europeans making calls or sending texts with their mobiles can experience the EU's single market without borders.
"The roaming rip-off is now coming to an end, thanks to the determined action of the EC, the European Parliament and all 27 EU member states."
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