Cap on Calls from Europe

6.41.33pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 30th Jul 2007

Graham Watson in the European Parliament

The European Parliament has announced that from 30th July there will be a cap on the amount phone operators can charge for using your phone to call home from the continent.

Speaking about the new rules, Graham Watson, Wiltshire's Euro MP said that 'it was a good day for holiday makers' who in the past have been charged up to ten times as much as of making a call from home.

The service actually only costs the service provide less than twice the cost. Cross-boarder calls provide some operators with as much as an extortionate 20% of their total income.

The cap will see the maximum cost per minute set at 33p for making a call and 16p for receiving one. This will mean a drop of as much as 75% off the current cost from some providers.