"David Horne" <d4g4h4@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1i1z3sc.1c3wnllotmu4vN%d4g4h4@yahoo.co.uk...
> > One thing which isn't clear from the regulations is what call
types it
> > applies to. For instance:
> >
> > 1) Non geographic (0845/0870 etc).
> >
> > 2) Mobiles and landlines anywhere in the EU? For instance if I'm
> > roaming in France can I call a mobile in Italy?
>
> The idea is that it shouldn't cost you more to make a call while
roaming
> than you would pay for that call at home. Obviously, it's impossible
to
> really rationalise this.

I don't understand what you're saying - clearly some calls are going
to be more when roaming than at home, eg calls to a UK landline.

> > 3) Does it apply to UK tariffs - for instance many contracts have
a
> > rip-off x-net rate if you exceed your included allowance (as they
want
> > people to pre-buy excess minutes and waste them every month). Some
are
> > 40p/min or more. Will these have to come down too?
>
> It doesn't apply to UK tariffs, but to roaming, where the EU
commission
> has felt there hasn't been enough competition.
>
> Mobile companies here and in Europe are fond of very complicated
pricing
> plans, as they confuse their customers.

Yes - they like plans that appear simple - eg £25 for 500 mins, but
are really much more complicated as one type of "minute" isn't the
same as another (eg calls to non-geographic, abroad, roaming etc).

It's really £25 a month for 500 of certain types of minutes, and if
you want other types of minutes you have to pay extra and don't get
the money back for the type of minutes you've already paid for.... It
really is a con.

> Yet another reason why I prefer
> a prepaid plan with very simple pricing...

Or a contract like my company has - none of this "inclusive minutes"
bullshit - simply a set of rates per minute so you pay for what you
use. A colleague recently switched to the company tariff - he was
paying £30 a month for an "inclusive minutes" tariff where a good
chuck of his calls weren't the correct type, so he was actually paying
around £35-40, he now pays £5-10 a month.

--
Andy