Total chat site for users of phone services

A new Europe-wide rule to prevent mobile phone users from building up large bills for surfing the internet via their handset has come into force.

Customers can now require their phone firm to cut them off when their bill reaches a certain level after accessing the internet in other European nations.

If users do not put in place a limit by 1 July, it will automatically be set at 50 euros ($65; £45).

The phone firms will have to warn users when their bill hits 80% of the limit.

Accessing the internet via your mobile phone while abroad is called “data roaming”.

European Commissioner for Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, said: “Protection against data roaming bill shocks is a useful step towards building customers’ confidence to use mobile networks to surf the internet when travelling around Europe.

“Such confidence is essential if people and businesses are to use the internet to its full potential.”

The Commission added that if service providers did not honour people’s set spending limits, national regulators would deal with complaints and impose any necessary sanctions.

Full article BBC Business News

The European Union has ruled the merger between Orange and T-Mobile in the UK can go ahead – with some conditions.

The tie-up between the two would create the biggest mobile network provider in the UK with 28 million customers.

The European Commission said certain steps must be taken to protect the UK’s smallest network operator, 3.

The group must also sell off a quarter of its spectrum on the 1,800 MHz band, one of three frequency bands currently used by UK mobile providers.

The new telecoms giant would control 84% is this bandwidth, which is part of the radio spectrum used for web surfing on mobile phones and is crucial to the government’s plans for the country’s future technological development.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) – the UK’s consumer watchdog – was concerned about both these issues and asked the Commission to investigate further.

‘Resolved’

The Commission took the OFT’s view into account and said France Telecom – owner of Orange – and Deutsche Telekom – owner of T-Mobile – could merge their UK units if they agreed to amend “an existing network sharing agreement” with 3 “to ensure that there remain sufficient competitors in the market”.

Full article BBC Business News